T  THE  FOOT 
THE  RAINBOW 

STRATTON -PORTER 


Mary  J.   L.   Me  Donald 


AttheFootoftheRaJnbov) 


"  To  understand  the  fashion  of  any  life,  one  must  know  the  land 
is  lived  in  and  the  procession  of  the  year." 

— MARY  AUSTIN. 


J 


Mary   Ma  lone  ...   slid  thr  heavy  holt  into  place"    (see  page 


fit  the  Foot  of 
the  f^ainbooi 


Po?tst» 


Hutfao*  of  ««F*e«kl«8,"  "Tbe 
Song  of  the  Cardinal,"  efe«. 


in   Coloi*  by 
Oliver  I^etnp 

Designs    and    Desolations    |>y 

Seycaoui* 


NEW  YORK1 

GROSSET  &  DUNLAP 
PUBLISHERS 


Copyrighted,  1907,  by 
THE  OUTING  PUBLISHING  COMPANY 

Entered  at  Stationers'  Hall,  London,  England 
All  Riglits  Reserved* 


vbv^v 


**  And  the  bow  shall  be  set  in  the  cloud;  and  I  will  look  upois 
Jit,  that  I  may  remember  the  everlasting  covenant  between  God  and 
every  living  creature  or" all  flesh  that  is  upon  the  earth.*' 

—GENESIS,  ix-i6. 


Copyrighted,  1907,  by 
THE  OUTING  PUBLISHING  COMPANY 

Entered  at  Stationers'  Hall,  London,  England 
All  RigMs  Reserved, 


v&V~v 


A""1 


«'  And  the  bow  shall  be  set  in  the  cloud;  and  I  will  look  upois 
it,  that  I  may  remember  the  everlasting  covenant  between  God  and 
every  living  creature  oi'all  flesh  that  is  upon  the  earth.*' 

—-GENESIS,  ix-i6. 


Contents 


I  RAT  CATCHERS  OF  THE  WABASH           .0.3 

II  RUBEN  O'KHAYAM  AND  THE  MILK  PAIL       .          .        23 

III  THE  FIFTY  COONS  OF  THE  CANOPER   ...       43 

IV  WHEN    THE     KINGFISHER    AND    THE     BLACK    BASS 

CAME  HOME     ......        67 

V  WHEN  THE  RAINBOW  SET  ITS  ARCH  IN  THE  SKY  .        87 

VI  THE  HEART  OF  MARY  MALONE           .          .          .115 

VII  THE  APPLE  OF  DISCORD  BECOMES  A  JOINTED  ROD       143 

VIII  WHEN  THE  BLACK  BASS  STRUCK           .          .          .171 

IX  WHEN  JIMMY  MALONE  CAME  TO  CONFESSION         .      199 

X  DANNIE'S  RENUNCIATION     .          .          .                    .219 

XI  THE  POT  OF  GOLD           .         »         .         .         .241 


Illustrations 


"MaryMalone  .  .  .  slid  the  heavy  bolt  into  place"  Frontispitct 

FACING 
PAGE 

"She  shook  with  strangled  sobs  until  she  scarce  could  stand 

alone" 122 

-  The  Black  Bass  leaped  clear  of  the  water "     .          .          .188 


THE  RAT-CATCHERS  OF  THE  WABASH 


AHheFoot  of  the  Rainbow 


CHAPTER   I 

THE  RAT-CATCHERS  OF  THE 

EY,  you  swate-scented  little  heart- 
warmer!"  cried  Jimmy  Malone, 
as  he  lifted  his  tenth  trap, 
weighted  with  a  struggling  musk- 
rat,  from  the  Wabash.  "Var 
mint  you  may  be  to  all  the  rist  of 
creation,  but  you  mane  a  night  at  Casey's  to  me." 

Jimmy  whistled  softly  as  he  reset  the  trap.  For 
the  moment  he  forgot  that  he  was  five  miles  from 
home,  that  it  was  a  mile  farther  to  the  end  of  his  line 
at  the  lower  curve  of  Horseshoe  Bend,  that  his  feet 
and  fingers  were  almost  freezing,  and  that  every  rat 
of  the  ten  now  in  the  bag  on  his  back  had  made  him 

3 


AT   THE    FOOT   OF   THE    RAINBOW 

thirstier.  He  shivered  as  the  cold  wind  sweeping  the 
curves  of  the  river  struck  him;  but  when  an  unusually 
heavy  gust  dropped  the  ice  and  snow  from  a  branch 
above  him  on  the  back  of  his  head,  he  laughed,  as  he 
ducked  and  cried :  "  Kape  your  snowballing  till  the 
Fourth  of  July,  will  you !  " 

"  Chick-a-dee-dee-dee !  "    remarked    a    tiny    gray 
bird  on  the  tree  above  him.    Jimmy  glanced  up. 
"  Chickie,  Chickie,  Chlckie,"  he  said.    "  I  can't  till 
,by  your  t  dress  .whether  you  are  a  hin  or  a  rooster. 
•  But  J'-caJitfilf  .try  your  employmint  that  you  are  work- 
;ing:Por:gri*b£.  H#ve  to  hustle  lively  for  every  worm 
you  find,  don't  you,  Chickie?    Now  me,  Fm  hustlin' 
lively  for  a  drink,  and  I  be  domn  if  it  seems  nicessary 
with  a  whole  river  of  drinkin'  stuff  flowin'  right 
under  me  feet.     But  the  old  Wabash  ain't  runnin' 
*  wine  and  milk  and  honey,'  not  by  the  jug-full.    It 
seems  to  be  compounded  of  aquil  parts  of  mud,  crude 
ile,   and  rain  water.      If  'twas  only  runnin'   Mel- 
wood,  be  gorry,  Chickie,  you'd  see  a  mermaid  named 
Jimmy    Malone    sittin'    on    the    Kingfisher    Stump, 
combin'  its  auburn  hair  with  a  breeze,  and  scoopin' 
whiskey  down  its  gullet  with  its  tail  fin.     No,  hold 
on,  Chickie,  you  wouldn't  either.    I'm  too  flat-chisted 
for  a  mermaid,  and  I'd  have  no  time  to  lave  off 

4 


THE  RAT-CATCHERS  OF  THE  WABASH 

gurglin'  for  the  hair-combin'  act,  which,  Chickie,  to 
me  notion  is  as  issential  to  a  mermaid  as  the  curves. 
I'd  be  a  sucker,  the  biggest  sucker  in  the  Gar-hole, 
Chickie  bird.  I'd  be  an  all-day  sucker,  be  gobs;  yis, 
and  an  all-night  sucker,  too.  Come  to  think  of  it, 
Chickie,  be  domn  if  I'd  be  a  sucker  at  all.  Look  at 
the  mouths  of  thim!  Puckered  up  with  a  draw 
string!  Oh,  Hell  on  the  Wabash,  Chickie,  think  of 
Jimmy  Malone  lyin'  at  the  bottom  of  a  river  flow- 
in'  with  Melwood,  and  a  puckerin'-string  mouth! 
Wouldn't  that  break  the  heart  of  you?  I  know  what 
I'd  be.  I'd  be  the  Black  Bass  of  Horseshoe  Bend, 
Chickie,  and  I'd  locate  just  below  the  shoals  headin* 
up  stream,  and  I'd  hold  me  mouth  wide  open  till  I 
paralyzed  me  jaws  so  I  couldn't  shut  thim.  I'd  just 
let  the  pure  stuff  wash  over  me  gills  constant,  world 
without  end.  Good-by,  Chickie.  Hope  you  got  your 
grub,  and  pretty  soon  I'll  have  enough  drink  to  make 
me  feel  like  I  was  the  Bass  for  one  night,  anyway." 
Jimmy  hurried  to  his  next  trap,  which  was  empty, 
but  the  one  after  that  contained  a  rat,  and  there  were 
footprints  in  the  snow.  "  That's  where  the  porrage- 
heart  of  the  Scotchman  comes  in,"  said  Jimmy,  as  he 
held  up  the  rat  by  one  foot,  and  gave  it  a  sharp  rap 
over  the  head  with  the  trap  to  make  sure  it  was  dead. 

5 


AT   THE    FOOT   OF   THE    RAINBOW 

"  Dannie  could  no  more  hear  a  rat  fast  in  one  of  me 
traps  and  not  come  over  and  put  it  out  of  its  misery, 
than  he  could  dance  a  hornpipe.  And  him  only 
sicond  hand  from  hornpipe  land,  too!  But  his  feet's 
like  lead.  Poor  Dannie!  He  gets  just  about  half 
the  rats  I  do.  He  niver  did  have  luck." 

Jimmy's  gay  face  clouded  for  an  instant.  The 
twinkle  faded  from  his  eyes,  and  a  look  of  unrest 
swept  into  them.  He  muttered  something,  and  catch 
ing  up  his  bag,  shoved  in  the  rat.  As  he  reset  the 
trap,  a  big  crow  dropped  from  branch  to  branch  on 
a  sycamore  above  him,  and  his  back  scarcely  was 
turned  before  it  alighted  on  the  ice,  and  ravenously 
picked  at  three  drops  of  blood  purpling  there. 

Away  down  the  ice-sheeted  river  led  Dannie's  trail, 
showing  plainly  across  the  snow  blanket.  The  wind 
raved  through  the  trees,  and  around  the  curves  of 
the  river.  The  dark  earth  of  the  banks  peeping 
from  under  overhanging  ice  and  snow,  looked  like 
the  entrance  to  deep  mysterious  caves.  Jimmy's 
superstitious  soul  readily  peopled  them  with  goblins 
and  devils.  He  shuddered,  and  began  to  talk  aloud 
to  cheer  himself.  "  Elivin  muskrat  skins,  times 
fifteen  cints  apiece,  one  dollar  sixty-five.  That  will 
buy  more  than  I  can  hold.  Hagginy!  Won't  I  be 

6 


THE  RAT-CATCHERS  OF  THE  WABASH 

takin'  one  long  fine  gurgle  of  the  pure  stuff!  And 
there's  the  boys!  I  might  do  the  grand  for  once. 
One  on  me  for  the  house !  And  I  might  pay  some 
thing  on  my  back  score,  but  first  I'll  drink  till  I  swell 
like  a  poisoned  pup.  And  I  ought  to  get  Mary 
that  milk  pail  she's  been  kickin'  for  this  last  month. 
Women  and  cows  are  always  kickin' !  If  the  blarsted 
cow  hadn't  kicked  a  hole  in  the  pail,  there'd  be  no 
need  of  Mary  kicking  for  a  new  one.  But  dough  is 
dubious  soldering.  Mary  says  it's  bad  enough  on 
the  dish  pan,  but  it  positively  ain't  hilthy  about  the 
milk  pail,  and  she  is  right.  We  ought  to  have  a  new 
pail.  I  guess  I'll  get  it  first,  and  fill  up  on  what's  left. 
v  One  for  a  quarter  will  do.  And  I've  several  traps 
yet,  I  may  get  a  few  more  rats." 

The  virtuous  resolve  to  buy  a  milk  pail  before  he 
quenched  the  thirst  which  burned  him,  so  elated 
Jimmy  with  good  opinion  of  himself  that  he  began 
whistling  gayly  as  he  strode  toward  his  next  trap. 
And  by  that  token,  Dannie  Macnoun,  resetting  an 
empty  trap  a  quarter  of  a  mile  below,  knew  that 
Jimmy  was  coming,  and  that  as  usual  luck  was  with 
him.  Catching  his  blood  and  water  dripping  bag, 
Dannie  dodged  a  rotten  branch  that  came  crashing 
down  under  the  weight  of  its  icy  load,  and  stepping 

7 


AT   THE    FOOT   OF   THE    RAINBOW 

out  on  the  river,  he  pulled  on  his  patched  wool-lined 
mittens  as  he  waited  for  Jimmy. 

"  How  many,  Dannie?  "  called  Jimmy  from  afar. 

"  Seven,"  answered  Dannie.    "  What  for  ye?  " 

"  Elivin,"  replied  Jimmy,  with  a  bit  of  uncon 
scious  swagger.  "  I  am  havin*  poor  luck  to-day." 

"  How  mony  wad  satisfy  ye?  "  asked  Dannie  sar 
castically. 

"  Ain't  got  time  to  figure  that,"  answered  Jimmy, 
working  in  a  double  shuffle  as  he  walked.  "  Thrash 
around  a  little,  Dannie.  It  will  warm  you  up." 

"  I  am  no  cauld,"  answered  Dannie. 
— "  No  cauld!"  imitated  Jimmy.  "No  cauld!  Come 
to  observe  you  closer,  I  do  detect  symptoms  of  sun 
stroke  in  the  ridness  of  your  face,  and  the  whiteness 
about  your  mouth ;  but  the  frost  on  your  neck  scarf, 
and  the  icicles  fistooned  around  the  tail  of  your  coat, 
tell  a  different  story. 

"  Dannie,  you  remind  me  of  the  baptizin'  of  Pete 
Cox  last  winter.  Pete's  nothin'  but  skin  and  bone, 
and  he  niver  had  a  square  meal  in  his  life  to  warm 
him.  It  took  pushin'  and  pullin'  to  get  him  in  the 
water,  and  a  scum  froze  over  while  he  was  under. 
Pete  came  up  shakin'  like  the  feeder  on  a  thrashin' 
machine,  and  whin  he  could  spake  at  all,  '  Bless 

8 


THE   RAT-CATCHERS  OF  THE  WABASH 

Jasus,'  says  he,  *  I'm  jist  as  wa-wa-warm  as  I  wa-wa- 
want  to  be.'  So  are  you,  Dannie,  but  there's  a 
difference  in  how  warm  folks  want  to  be.  For 
meself,  now,  I  could  aisily  bear  a  little  more  hate." 

"  It's  honest,  I'm  no  cauld,"  insisted  Dannie;  and 
he  might  have  added  that  if  Jimmy  would  not  fill 
his  system  with  Casey's  poisons,  that  degree  of  cold 
would  not  chill  and  pinch  him  either.  But  being 
Dannie,  he  neither  thought  nor  said  it. 

"  Why,  I'm  frozen  to  me  sowl !  "  cried  Jimmy,  as 
he  changed  the  rat  bag  to  his  other  hand,  and  beat 
the  empty  one  against  his  leg.  "  Say,  Dannie,  where 
do  you  think  the  Kingfisher  is  wintering?  " 

"  And  the  Black  Bass,"  answered  Dannie, 
1  Where  do  ye  suppose  the  Black  Bass  13  noo?  '* 

"  Strange  you  should  mintion  the  Black  Bass," 
said  Jimmy.  "  I  was  just  havin'  a  little  talk  about 
him  with  a  frind  of  mine  named  Chickie-dom,  no, 
Chickie-dee,  who  works  a  grub  stake  back  there. 
The  Bass  might  be  lyin'  in  the  river  bed  right  under 
our  feet.  Don't  you  remimber  the  time  whin  I  put 
on  three  big  cut-worms,  and  skittered  thim  beyond 
the  log  that  lays  across  here,  and  he  lept  from  the 
water  till  we  both  saw  him  the  best  we  ever  did,  and 
nothin'  but  my  old  rotten  line  ever  saved  him?  Or 

9 


AT   THE    FOOT   OP   YHfc    RAINBOW 

he  might  be  where  it  slumps  off  just  below  the  King 
fisher  stump.  But  I  know  where  he  is  all  right.  He's 
down  in  the  Gar-hole,  and  he'll  come  back  here 
spawning  time,  and  chase  minnows  when  the  King 
fisher  comes  home.  But,  Dannie,  where  the  nation  do 
you  suppose  the  Kingfisher  is?  " 

"  No  so  far  away  as  ye  might  think,"  replied  Dan 
nie.  "  Doc  Hues  told  me  that  coming  on  the  train 
frae  Indianapolis  on  the  fifteenth  of  December,  he 
saw  one  fly  across  a  little  pond  juist  below  Winchester. 
I  believe  they  go  south  slowly,  as  the  cold  drives 
them,  and  stop  near  as  they  can  find  guid  fishing. 
Dinna  that  stump  look  lonely  wi'out  him  ?  " 

"  And  sound  lonely  without  the  Bass  slashing 
around !  I  am  going  to  have  that  Bass  this  summer 
if  I  don't  do  a  thing  but  fish !  "  vowed  Jimmy. 

"  I'll  surely  have  a  try  at  him,"  answered  Dannie, 
iwith  a  twinkle  in  his  gray  eyes.  "  We've  caught 
most  everything  else  in  the  Wabash,  and  our  reputa 
tion  fra  taking  guid  fish  is  ahead  of  any  one  on  the 
river,  except  the  Kingfisher.  Why  the  Diel  dinna 
one  of  us  haul  out  that  Bass?  " 

"  Ain't  I  just  told  you  that  I  am  going  to  hook 
him  this  summer?"  shivered  Jimmy. 

"  Dinna  ye  hear  me  mention  that  I  intended  to 


THE  RAT-CATCHERS  OF  THE  WABASH 

take   a   try    at   him   myser  ? "    questioned    Dannie. 
"  Have  ye  forgotten  that  I  know  how  to  fish?  " 

"  'Nough  breeze  to-day  without  starting  a  High 
lander,"  interposed  Jimmy  hastily.  "  I  believe  I 
hear  a  rat  in  my  next  trap.  That  will  make  me 
twilve,  and  it's  good  and  glad  of  it  I  am  for  I've  to 
walk  to  town  when  my  line  is  reset.  There's  some 
thing  Mary  wants." 

"  If  Mary  wants  ye  to  go  to  town,  why  dinna  ye 
leave  me  to  finish  your  traps,  and  start  now  ?  "  asked 
Dannie.  "  It's  getting  dark,  and  if  ye  are  so  late 
ye  canna  see  the  drifts,  ye  never  can  cut  across  the 
fields;  fra  the  snow  is  piled  waist  high,  and  it's  a 
mile  farther  by  the  road." 

"  I  got  to  skin  my  rats  first,  or  I'll  be  havin'  to  ask 
credit  again,"  replied  Jimmy. 

"  That's  easy,"  answered  Dannie.  "  Turn  your 
rats  over  to  me  richt  noo.  I'll  give  ye  market  price 
fra  them  in  cash." 

"  But  the  skinnin'  of  them,"  objected  Jimmy  for 
decency  sake,  though  his  eyes  were  beginning  to  shine 
and  his  fingers  to  tremble. 

"  Never  ye  mind  about  that,"  retorted  Dannie. 
"  I  like  to  take  my  time  to  it,  and  fix  them  up  nice. 
Elivin,  did  ye  say?" 

II 


AT   THE    FOOT   OF   THE    RAINBOW 

"  Elivin,"  answered  Jimmy,  breaking  into  a  jig, 
supposedly  to  keep  his  feet  warm,  in  reality  because 
he  could  not  stand  quietly  while  Dannie  pulled  off 
his  mittens,  got  out  and  unstrapped  his  wallet,  and 
carefully  counted  out  the  money.  "  Is  that  all  ye 
need  ?  "  he  asked. 

For  an  instant  Jimmy  hesitated.  Missing  a  chance 
to  get  even  a  few  cents  more  meant  a  little  shorter 
time  at  Casey's.  '  That's  enough,  I  think,"  he  said. 
"  I  wish  I'd  staid  out  of  matrimony,  and  then  maybe 
I  could  iver  have  a  cint  of  me  own.  You  ought  to 
be  glad  you  haven't  a  woman  to  consume  ivery  penny 
you  earn  before  it  reaches  your  pockets,  Dannie 
Micnoun." 

"  I  hae  never  seen  Mary  consume  much  but  calico 
and  food,"  Dannie  said  dryly. 

"  Oh,  it  ain't  so  much  what  a  woman  really 
spinds,"  said  Jimmy,  peevishly,  as  he  shoved  the 
money  into  his  pocket,  and  pulled  on  his  mittens. 
"  It's  what  you  know  she  would  spind  if  she  had  the 
chance." 

"  I  dinna  think  ye'll  break  up  on  that,"  laughed 
Dannie. 

And  that  was  what  Jimmy  wanted.  So  long  as 
he  could  set  Dannie  laughing,  he  could  mold  him. 

12 


THE  RAT-CATCHERS  OF  THE  WABASH 

"  No,  but  I'll  break  down,"  lamented  Jimmy  in 
sore  self-pity ,'  as  he  remembered  the  quarter  sacred 
to  the  purchase  of  the  milk  pail. 

"  Ye  go  on,  and  hurry,"  urged  Dannie.  "  If  ye 
dinna  start  home  by  seven,  I'll  be  combing  the  drifts 
fra  ye  before  morning." 

"Anything  I  can  do  for  you?"  asked  Jimmy, 
tightening  his  old  red  neck  scarf. 

"  Yes,"  answered  Dannie.  "  Do  your  errand  and 
start  straight  home,  your  teeth  are  chattering  noo. 
A  little  more  exposure,  and  the  rheumatism  will  be 
grinding  ye  again.  Ye  will  hurry,  Jimmy?  " 

"  Sure !  "  cried  Jimmy,  ducking  under  a  snow  slide, 
and  breaking  into  a  whistle  as  he  turned  toward  the 
road. 

Dannie's  gaze  followed  Jimmy's  retreating  figure 
until  he  climbed  the  bank,  and  was  lost  in  the  woods, 
and  the  light  in  his  eyes  was  the  light  of  love.  He 
glanced  at  the  sky,  and  hurried  down  the  river.  First 
across  to  Jimmy's  side  to  gather  his  rats  and  reset 
his  traps,  then  to  his  own.  But  luck  seemed  to  have 
turned,  for  all  the  rest  of  Dannie's  were  full,  and  all 
of  Jimmy's  were  empty.  But  as  he  was  gone,  it  was 
not  necessary  for  Dannie  to  slip  across  and  fill  them, 
as  was  his  custom  when  they  worked  together.  He 


AT   THE    FOOT   OF   THE    RAINBOW 

would  divide  the  rats  at  skinning  time,  so  that  Jimmy 
would  have  just  twice  as  many  as  he,  because  Jimmy 
had  a  wife  to  support.  The  last  trap  of  the  line  lay  a 
'v  little  below  the  curve  of  Horseshoe  Bend,  and  there 
Dannie  twisted  the  tops  of  the  bags  together,  climbed 
the  bank,  and  struck  across  Rainbow  Bottom.  He 
settled  his  load  to  his  shoulders,  and  glanced  ahead 
to  choose  the  shortest  route.  He  stopped  suddenly 
with  a  quick  intake  of  breath. 

"  God !  "  he  cried  reverently.  "  Hoo  beautifu'  are 
Thy  works." 

The  ice-covered  Wabash  circled  Rainbow  Bottom 
like  a  broad  white  frame,  and  inside  it  was  a  perfect 
picture  wrought  in  crystal  white  and  snow  shadows. 
The  blanket  on  the  earth  lay  smoothly  in  even  places, 
rose  with  knolls,  fell  with  valleys,  curved  over  pros 
trate  logs,  heaped  in  mounds  where  bushes  grew 
thickly,*  and  piled  high  in  drifts  where  the  wind  blew 
free.  In  the  shelter  of  the  bottom  the  wind  had  not 
stripped  the  trees  of  their  loads  as  it  had  those  along 
the  river.  The  willows,  maples,  and  soft  woods  bent 
almost  to  earth  with  their  shining  burden;  but  the 
stout,  stiffly  upstanding  trees,  the  oaks,  elms,  and 
cottonwoods  defied  the  elements  to  bow  their  proud 
heads.  While  the  three  mighty  trunks  of  the  great 

14 


THE   RAT-CATCHERS  OF  THE  WABASH 

sycamore  in  the  middle  looked  white  as  the  snow,  and 
dwarfed  its  companions  as  it  never  had  in  summer ;  its 
wide-spreading  branches  were  sharply  cut  against  the 
blue  background,  and  they  tossed  their  frosted  balls 
in  the  face  of  Heaven.  The  giant  of  Rainbow  Bot 
tom  might  be  broken,  but  it  never  would  bend.  Every 
clambering  vine,  every  weed  and  dried  leaf  wore  a 
coat  of  lace-webbed  frostwork.  The  wind  swept  a 
mist  of  tiny  crystals  through  the  air,  and  from  the 
shelter  of  the  deep  woods  across  the  river  a  Cardinal 
whistled  gayly. 

The  bird  of  Good  Cheer,  whistling  no  doubt  on 
an  empty  crop,  made  Dannie  think  of  Jimmy,  and  his 
unfailing  fountain  of  mirth.  Dear  Jimmy!  Would 
he  ever  take  life  seriously?  How  good  he  was  to 
tramp  to  town  and  back  after  five  miles  on  the  ice. 
He  thought  of  Mary  with  almost  a  touch  of  impa 
tience.  What  did  the  woman  want  that  was  so 
necessary  as  to  send  a  man  to  town  after  a  day  on 
the  ice?  Jimmy  would  be  dog  tired  when  he  got 
home.  Dannie  decided  to  hurry,  and  do  the  feeding 
and  get  in  the  wood  before  he  began  to  skin  the 
rats. 

He  found  walking  uncertain.  He  plunged  into 
unsuspected  hollows,  and  waded  drifts,  so  thai  he 

15 


AT   THE    FOOT   OF   THE    RAINBOW 

was  panting  when  he  reached  the  lane.  From  there 
he  caught  the  gray  curl  of  smoke  against  the  sky 
from  one  of  two  log  cabins  side  by  side  at  the  top  of 
the  embankment,  and  he  almost  ran  toward  them. 
Mary  might  think  they  were  late  at  the  traps,  and 
be  out  doing  the  feeding,  and  it  would  be  cold  for  a 
woman. 

On  reaching  his  own  door,  he  dropped  the  rat 
bags  inside,  and  then  hurried  to  the  yard  of  the 
other  cabin.  He  gathered  a  big  load  of  wood  in 
his  arms,  and  stamping  the  snow  from  his  feet,  called 
"  Open !  "  at  the  door.  Dannie  stepped  inside  and 
filled  the  empty  box.  With  smiling  eyes  he  turned 
to  Mary,  as  he  brushed  the  snow  and  moss  from  his 
sleeves. 

"  Nothing  but  luck  to-day,"  he  said.  "  Jimmy 
took  elivin  fine  skins  frae  his  traps  before  he  started 
to  town,  and  I  got  five  more  that  are  his,  and  I  hae 
eight  o'  my  own." 

Mary  looked  such  a  dream  to  Dannie,  standing 
there  all  pink  and  warm  and  tidy  in  her  fresh  blue 
dress,  that  he  blinked  and  smiled,  half  bewildered. 

"  What  did  Jimmy  go  to  town  for?  "  she  asked. 

"  Whatever  it  was  ye  wanted,"  answered  Dannie. 

"What  was  it  I  wanted?"  persisted  Mary. 

16 


THE  RAT-CATCHERS  OF  THE  WABASH 

"  He  dinna  tell  me,"  replied  Dannie,  and  the  smile 
wavered. 

"  Me,  either,"  said  Mary,  and  she  stooped  and 
picked  up  her  sewing. 

Dannie  went  out  and  gently  closed  the  door.  He 
stood  for  a  second  on  the  step,  forcing  himself  to 
take  an  inventory  of  the  work.  There  were  the 
chickens  to  feed,  and  the  cows  to  milk,  feed,  and 
water.  Both  the  teams  must  be  fed  and  bedded,  a 
fire  in  his  own  house  made,  and  two  dozen  rats 
skinned,  and  the  skins  put  to  stretch  and  cure.  And 
at  the  end  of  it  all,  instead  of  a  bed  and  rest,  there 
was  every  probability  that  he  must  drive  to  town 
after  Jimmy;  for  Jimmy  could  get  helpless  enough  to 
freeze  in  a  drift  on  a  dollar  sixty-five. 

"  Oh,  Jimmy,  Jimmy !  "  muttered  Dannie.  "  I 
wish  ye  wadna."  And  he  was  not  thinking  of  him 
self,  but  of  the  eyes  of  the  woman  inside. 

So  Dannie  did  all  the  work,  and  cooked  his 
supper,  because  he  never  ate  in  Jimmy's  cabin  when 
Jimmy  was  not  there.  Then  he  skinned  rats,  and 
watched  the  clock,  because  if  Jimmy  did  not  come  b> 
eleven,  it  meant  he  must  drive  to  town  and  bring  him 
home.  No  wonder  Jimmy  chilled  at  the  trapping 
when  he  kept  his  blood  on  fire  with  whiskey.  At 


AT   THE    FOOT   OF   THE    RAINBOW 

half-past  ten,  Dannie,  with  scarcely  half  the  rats 
finished,  went  out  into  the  storm  and  hitched  to  the 
single  buggy.  Then  he  tapped  at  Mary  Malone's 
door,  quite  softly,  so  that  he  would  not  disturb  her 
if  she  had  gone  to  bed.  She  was  not  sleeping,  how 
ever,  and  the  loneliness  of  her  slight  figure,  as  she 
stood  with  the  lighted  room  behind  her,  struck  Dan 
nie  forcibly,  so  that  his  voice  trembled  with  pity  as 
he  said :  "  Mary,  I've  run  out  o'  my  curing  compound 
juist  in  the  midst  of  skinning  the  finest  bunch  o'  rats 
we've  taken  frae  the  traps  this  winter.  I  am  going 
to  drive  to  town  fra  some  more  before  the  stores 
close,  and  we  will  be  back  in  less  than  an  hour. 
I  thought  I'd  tell  ye,  so  if  ye  wanted  me  ye  wad 
know  why  I  dinna  answer.  ,Ye  winna  be  afraid, 
will  ye?" 

"  No,"  replied  Mary,  "  I  won't  be  afraid." 
"  Bolt  the  doors,  and  pile  on  plenty  of  wood  to 
keep  ye  warm,"  said  Dannie  as  he  turned  away. 

Just  for  a  minute  Mary  stared  out  into  the  storm. 
Then  a  gust  of  wind  nearly  swept  her  from  her  feet, 
and  she  pushed  the  door  shut,  and  slid  the  heavy 
bolt  into  place.  For  a  little  while  she  leaned  and 
listened  to  the  storm  outside.  She  was  a  clean,  neat, 
beautiful  Irish  woman.  Her  eyes  were  wide  and 

18 


THE  RAT-CATCHERS  OF  THE  WABASH 

blue,  her  cheeks  pink,  and  her  hair  black  and  softly 
curling  about  her  face  and  neck.  The  room  in  whick 
she  stood  was  neat  as  its  keeper.  The  walls  were 
whitewashed,  and  covered  with  prints,  pictures,  and 
some  small  tanned  skins.  Dried  grasses  and  flowers 
filled  the  vases  on  the  mantle.  The  floor  was  neatly 
carpeted  with  a  striped  rag  carpet,  and  in  the  big 
open  fireplace  a  wood  fire  roared.  In  an  opposite 
corner  stood  a  modern  cooking  stove,  the  pipe  passing 
through  a  hole  in  the  wall,  and  a  door  led  into  a 
sleeping  room  beyond. 

As  her  eyes  swept  the  room  they  rested  finally 
on  a  framed  lithograph  of  the  Virgin,  with  the 
Infant  in  her  arms.  Slowly  Mary  advanced,  her 
gaze  fast  on  the  serene  pictured  face  of  the  mother 
clasping  her  child.  Before  it  she  stood  staring.  Sud 
denly  her  breast  began  to  heave,  and  the  big  tears 
brimmed  from  her  eyes  and  slid  down  her  cheeks. 

"  Since  you  look  so  wise,  why  don't  you  tell  me 
why?  "  she  demanded.  "  Oh,  if  you  have  any  mercy, 
tell  me  why!" 

Then  before  the  steady  look  in  the  calm  eyes,  she 
hastily  made  the  sign  of  the  cross,  and  slipping  to  the 
floor,  she  laid  her  head  on  a  chair,  and  sobbed  aloud. 


RUBEN  O'KHAYAM  AND  THE  MILK 
PAIL 


CHAPTER   II 
RUBEN  O'KHAYAM  AND  THE  MILK  PAIL 

1MMY  MALONE,  carrying  a  shin 
ing  tin  milk  pail,  stepped  into  Casey's 
saloon  and  closed  the  door  behind 
him. 

"  E*   much   as   wine    has  played    the 

Infidel, 

And  robbed  me  of  my  robe  of  Honor — well, 
I  wonder  what  the  Vinters  buy 
One-half  so  precious  as  the  stuff  they  sell." 

Jimmy  stared  at  the  back  of  a  man  leaning  against 
the  bar,  and  gazing  lovingly  at  a  glass  of  red  wine, 
as  he  recited  in  mellow,  swinging  tones.  Gripping  the 
milk  pail,  Jimmy  advanced  a  step.  The  man  stuck 
a  thumb  in  the  belt  of  his  Norfolk  jacket,  and  the 
verses  flowed  on : 


AT   THE    FOOT   OF   THE    RAINBOW 

"  The  grape  that  can  with  logic  absolute 
The  two  and  seventy  jarring  sects  confute: 
The  sovereign  Alchemist  that  in  a  trice 
Life's  leaden  metal  into  Gold  transmute." 

Jimmy's  mouth  fell  open,  and  he  slowly  nodded 
indorsement  of  the  sentiment.  The  man  lifted  his 
glass. 

"  Ah,  make  the  most  of  what  we  yet  may  spend, 
Before  we  too  into  the  Dust  descend; 
Yesterday  this  Day's  Madness  did  prepare; 
To-morrow's  Silence,  Triumph,  or  Despair: 
Drink!  for  you  know  not  whence  you  came  nor  why: 
Drink !  for  you  know  not  why  you  go  nor  where." 

Jimmy  set  the  milk  pail  on  the  bar  and  faced  the 
man. 

"  Tore  God,  that's  the  only  sinsible  word  I  ever 
heard  on  my  side  of  the  quistion  in  all  me  life.  And 
to  think  that  it  should  come  from  the  mouth  of  a 
man  wearing  such  a  Go-to-Hell  coat!  " 

Jimmy  shoved  the  milk  pail  in  front  of  the 
stranger.  "  In  the  name  of  humanity,  impty  your 
self  of  that,"  he  said.  "  Fill  me  pail  with  the  stuff 
and  let  me  take  it  home  to  Mary.  She's  always  got 
the  bist  of  the  argumint,  but  I'm  thinkin'  that  would 
cork  her.  You  won't?"  questioned  Jimmy  resent 
fully.  "  Kape  it  to  yoursilf,  thin,  like  you  did  your 

24 


RUBEN   AND   THE    MILK    PAIL 

wine."  He  shoved  the  bucket  toward  the  barkeeper, 
and  emptied  his  pocket  on  the  bar.  "  There,  Casey,, 
you  be  the  Sovereign  Alchemist,  and  transmute  that 
metal  into  Melwood  pretty  quick,  for  I've  not  wet  me 
whistle  in  three  days,  and  the  belly  of  me  is  filled 
with  burnin'  autumn  leaves.  Gimme  a  loving  cup> 
and  come  on  boys,  this  is  on  me  while  it  lasts." 

The  barkeeper  swept  the  coin  into  the  till,  picked 
up  the  bucket,  and  started  back  toward  a  beer  keg. 

"  Oh,  no  you  don't !  "  cried  Jimmy.  "  Come  back 
here  and  count  that  *  leaden  metal,'  and  then  be 
transmutin'  it  into  whiskey  straight,  the  purest  gold 
you  got.  You  don't  drown  out  a  three-days'  thirst 
with  beer.  You  ought  to  give  me  'most  two  quarts 
for  that." 

The  barkeeper  was  wise.  He  knew  that  what 
Jimmy  started  would  go  on  with  men  who  could  pay, 
and  he  filled  the  order  generously. 

Jimmy  picked  up  the  pail.    He  dipped  a  small  glass 
in  the  liquor,  and  held  near  an  ounce  aloft. 
"  I  wonder  what  the  Vinters  buy 
One-half  so  precious  as  the  stuff  they  sell  ?  " 

he  quoted.  "Down  goes !  "  and  he  emptied  the 
glass  at  a  draft.  Then  he  walked  to  the  group  at  the 
stove,  and  began  dipping  a  drink  for  each. 

25 


AT   THE    FOOT   OF   THE    RAINBOW 

When  Jimmy  came  to  a  gray-haired  man,  with  a 
high  forehead  and  an  intellectual  face,  he  whispered : 
*  Take  your  full  time,  Cap.  Who's  the  rhymin' 
jnkybator?" 

'*  Thread  man,  Boston,"  mouthed  the  Captain,  as 
he  reached  for  the  glass  with  trembling  fingers. 
Jimmy  held  on.  "  Do  you  know  that  stuff  he's  giving 
off?"  The  Captain  nodded,  and  rose  to  his  feet. 
He  always  declared  he  could  feel  it  farther  if  he 
drank  standing. 

"  What's  his  name?  n  whispered  Jimmy,  releasing 
the  glass.  "  Rubaiyat,  Omar  Khayyam,"  panted  the 
Captain,  and  was  lost.  Jimmy  finished  the  round  of 
his  friends,  and  then  approached  the  bar. 

His  voice  was  softening.  "  Mister  Ruben  O'Kha- 
yam,"  he  said,  "  it's  me  private  opinion  that  ye  nade 
lace-trimmed  pantalettes  and  a  sash  to  complate  your 
costume,  but  barrin'  clothes,  I'm  entangled  in  the 
thrid  of  your  discourse.  Bein'  a  Boston  man  meself, 
it  appeals  to  me,  that  I  detict  the  refinemint  of  the 
East  in  yer  voice.  Now  these,  me  frinds,  that  I've 
just  been  tratin',  are  men  of  these  parts;  but  we  of 
the  middle  East  don't  set  up  to  equal  the  culture  of  the 
extreme  East.  So,  Mr.  O'Khayam,  solely  for  the 
benefit  you  might  be  to  us,  I'm  askin'  you  to  join  me 

26 


RUBEN   AND   THE   MILK   PAIL 

and  me  frinds  in  the  momenchous  initiation  of  me  new 
milk  pail." 

Jimmy  lifted  a  brimming  glass,  and  offered  it  to 
the  Thread  Man.  "  Do  you  transmute?  "  he  asked. 
Now  if  the  Boston  man  had  looked  Jimmy  in  the  eye, 
and  said  "  I  do,"  this  book  would  not  have  been 
written.  But  he  did  not.  He  looked  at  the  milk 
pail,  and  the  glass,  which  had  passed  through  the 
hands  of  a  dozen  men  in  a  little  country  saloon 
away  out  in  the  wilds  of  Indiana,  and  said :  "  I  do 
not  care  to  partake  of  further  refreshment;  if  I 
can  be  of  intellectual  benefit,  I  might  remain  for  a 
time." 

For  a  flash  Jimmy  lifted  the  five  feet  ten  of  his 
height  to  six ;  but  in  another  he  shrank  below  normal. 
What  appeared  to  the  Thread  Man  to  be  a  humble, 
deferential  seeker  after  wisdom,  led  him  to  one  of  the 
chairs  around  the  big  coal  base  burner.  But  the  boys 
who  knew  Jimmy  were  watching  the  whites  of  his 
eyes,  as  they  drank  the  second  round.  At  this  stage 
Jimmy  was  on  velvet.  How  long  he  remained  there 
depended  on  the  depth  of  Melwood  in  the  milk  . 
pail  between  his  knees.  He  smiled  winningly  on  the 
Thread  Man. 

"  Ye  know,  Mister  O'Khayam,"  he  said,  "  at  the 

27 


AT   THE    FOOT   OF  THE    RAINBOW 

present  time  you  are  located  in  one  of  the  wooliest 
parts  of  the  wild  East.  I  don't  suppose  anything  wool- 
ier  could  be  found  on  the  plains  of  Nebraska  where 
I  am  reliably  informed  they've  stuck  up  a  pole  and 
labeled  it  the  cinter  of  the  United  States.  Being 
a  thousand  miles  closer  that  pole  than  you  are  in 
Boston,  naturally  we  come  by  that  distance  closer  to 
the  great  wool  industry.  Most  of  our  wool  here 
grows  on  our  tongues,  and  we  shear  it  by  this  trans- 
mutin'  process,  concerning  which  you  have  discoursed 
so  beautiful.  But  barrin'  the  shearin'  of  our  wool, 
we  are  the  mildest,  most  sheepish  fellows  you  could 
imagine.  I  don't  reckon  now  there  is  a  man  among 
us  who  could  be  induced  to  blat  or  to  butt,  under  the 
most  tryin'  circumstances.  My  Mary's  got  a  little 
lamb,  and  all  the  rist  of  the  boys  are  lambs.  But  all 
the  lambs  are  waned,  and  clusterin'  round  the  milk 
pail.  Ain't  that  touchin'?  Come  on,  now,  Ruben, 
ile  up  and  edify  us  some  more!  " 

"On  what  point  do  you  seek  enlightenment?'* 
inquired  the  Thread  Man. 

Jimmy  stretched  his  long  legs,  and  spat  against 
the  stove  in  pure  delight. 

"  Oh,  you  might  loosen  up  on  the  work  of  a  man," 
he  suggested.  "  These  lambs  of  Casey's  fold  may 

28 


RUBEN   AND   THE   MILK   PAIL 

larn  things  from  you  to  help  thim  in  the  striss  of  life. 
Now  here's  Jones,  for  instance,  he's  holdin'  togither 
a  gang  of  sixty  gibbering  Atalyans;  any  wan  of  thim 
would  cut  his  throat  and  skip  in  the  night  for  a 
dollar,  but  he  kapes  the  beast  in  thim  under,  and 
they're  gettin'  out  gravel  for  the  bed  of  a  railway. 
Bingham  there  is  oil.  He's  punchin'  the  earth  full 
of  wan  thousand  foot  holes,  and  sendin'  off  two  hun 
dred  quarts  of  nitroglycerine  at  the  bottom  of  them, 
and  pumpin'  the  accumulation  across  continents  to 
furnish  folks  light  and  hate.  York  here  is  runnin'  a 
field  railway  between  Bluffton  and  Celina,  so  that  I 
can  get  to  the  river  and  the  resurvoir  to  fish  without 
walkin'.  Haines  is  bossin'  a  crew  of  forty  Canadians 
and  he's  takin'  the  timber  from  the  woods  hereabouts, 
and  sending  it  to  be  made  into  boats  to  carry  stuff 
across  sea.  Meself,  and  me  partner,  Dannie  Mic- 
noun,  are  the  lady-likest  lambs  in  the  bunch.  We 
grow  grub  to  feed  folks  in  summer  and  trap  for 
skins  to  cover  'em  in  winter.  Corn  is  our  great  com 
modity.  Plowin'  and  hoein'  it  in  summer,  and  huskin* 
it  in  the  fall  is  sich  lamb-like  work.  But  don't  min- 
tion  it  in  the  same  brith  with  tendin'  our  four  dozen 
fur  traps  on  a  twenty-below-zero  day.  Freezing 
hands  and  fate,  and  fallin'  into  air  bubbles,  and 

29 


AT   THE    FOOT   OF   THE    RAINBOW 

building  fires  to  thaw  out  our  frozen  grub.  Now 
here  among  us  poor  little  '  transmutin' '  lambs  you 
come,  a  raging  lion,  ripresentin'  the  cultour  and  ray- 
finement  of  the  far  East.  By  the  pleats  on  your  breast 
you  show  us  the  style.  By  the  thrid  case  in  your 
hand  you  furnish  us  material  so  that  our  women  can 
tuck  their  petticoats  so  fancy,  and  by  the  book  in  your 
head  you  teach  us  your  sooperiority.  By  the  same 
token,  I  wish  I  had  that  book  in  me  head,  for  I  could 
just  squelch  Dannie  and  Mary  with' it  complate.  Say, 
Mister  O'Khayam,  next  time  you  come  this  way  bring 
me  a  copy.  I'm  wantin'  it  bad.  I  got  what  you  gave 
off  all  secure,  but  I  take  it  there's  more.  No  man  goin' 
at  that  clip  could  shut  off  with  thim  few  lines.  Do 
you  know  the  rist?  " 

The  Thread  Man  knew  the  most  of  it,  and 
although  he  was  very  uncomfortable,  he  did  not  know 
just  how  to  get  away,  so  he  recited  it.  The  milk  pail 
was  empty  now,  and  Jimmy  had  almost  forgotten 
that  it  was  a  milk  pail,  and  seemed  inclined  to  resent 
the  fact  that  it  had  gone  empty.  He  beat  time  on 
the  bottom  of  it,  and  frequently  interrupted  the 
Thread  Man  to  repeat  a  couplet  which  particularly 
suited  him.  By  and  by  he  got  to  his  feet  and  began 
stepping  off  a  slow  dance  to  a  sing-song  repetition  of 

30 


RUBEN    AND    THE    MILK    PAIL 

lines  that  sounded  musical  to  him,  all  the  time  mark 
ing  the  measures  vigorously  on  the  pail.  When  he 
tired  of  a  couplet,  he  pounded  the  pail  over  the  bar, 
stove,  or  chairs  in  encore,  until  the  Thread  Man 
could  think  up  another  to  which  he  could  dance. 

"Wine!    Wine!    Wine!    Red  Wine! 
The  Nightingale  cried  to  the  rose," 

chanted  Jimmy,  thumping  the  pail  in  time,  and  step 
ping  off  the  measures  with  feet  that  scarcely  seemed 
to  touch  the  floor.  He  flung  his  hat  to  the  barkeeper, 
and  his  coat  on  a  chair,  ruffled  his  fingers  through  his 
thick  auburn  hair,  and  holding  the  pail  under  one 
arm,  he  paused,  panting  for  breath  and  begging  for 
more.  The  Thread  Man  sat  on  the  edge  of  his  chair, 
and  the  eyes  he  fastened  on  Jimmy  were  beginning 
to  fill  with  interest. 

"  Come  fill  the  Cup  and  in  the  fire  of  Spring 
Your  Winter-Garment  of  Repentance  fling. 
The  bird  of  time  has  but  a  little  way  to  flutter 
And  the  bird  is  on  the  wing." 

Smash  came  the  milk  pail  across  the  bar. 
"  Hooray !  "  shouted  Jimmy.  "  Besht  yet !  "  Bang ! 
Bang !  He  was  off.  "  Bird  ish  on  the  wing,"  he 


AT   THE    FOOT    OF   THE    RAINBOW 

chanted,  and  his  feet  flew.  "  Come  fill  the  cup,  and 
in  the  firesh  of  spring — Firesh  of  Spring,  Bird  ish  on 
the  Wing !  "  Between  the  music  of  the  milk  pail,  the 
brogue  of  the  panted  verses,  and  the  grace  of  Jimmy's 
flying  feet,  the  Thread  Man  was  almost  prostrate.  It 
suddenly  came  to  him  that  here  might  be  a  chance  to 
have  a  great  time. 

"More!"  gasped  Jimmy.     "Me  some  morel" 
The  Thread  Man  wiped  his  eyes. 

41  Whether  the  cup  with  sweet  or  bitter  run, 
The  wine  of  life  keeps  oozing  drop  by  drop, 
The  leaves  of  life  keep  falling  one  by  one," 

Away  went  Jimmy. 

"  Swate  or  bitter  run, 


Laves  of  life  kape  falling  one  by  one," 

Bang!  Bang!  sounded  a  new  improvision  on  the 
sadly  battered  pail,  and  to  a  new  step  Jimmy  flashed 
back  and  forth  the  length  of  the  saloon.  At  last  he 
paused  to  rest  a  second.  "  One  more  I  Just  one 
more !  "  he  begged. 

"  A  Book  of  Verses  underneath  the  Bough, 
A  jug  of  wine,  a  Loaf  of  Bread  and  Thou 
Beside  me  singing  in  the  Wilderness. 
Oh,  wilderness  were  Paradise  enough ! " 

32 


RUBEN   AND    THE    MILK    PAIL 

Jimmy's  head  dropped  an  instant.  His  feet  slowly 
shuffled  in  improvising  a  new  step,  and  then  he  moved 
away,  thumping  the  milk  pail  and  chanting: 

"  A  couple  of  fish  poles  underneath  a  tree, 
A  bottle  of  Rye  and  Dannie  beside  me 
A  fishing  in  the  Wabash. 
Were  the  Wabash  Paradise?    Hully  Gee!" 

Tired  out,  he  dropped  across  a  chair  facing  the 
back  and  folded  his  arms.  He  regained  breath  to 
ask  the  Thread  Man :  "  Did  you  iver  have  a  frind?  " 

He  had  reached  the  confidential  stage. 

The  Boston  man  was  struggling  to  regain  his  dig 
nity.  He  retained  the  impression  that  at  the  wildest 
of  the  dance  he  had  yelled  and  patted  time  for  Jimmy. 

"  I  hope  I  have  a  host  of  friends,"  he  said,  settling 
his  pleated  coat. 

"  Damn  hosht !  "  said  Jimmy.  "  Jisht  in  way. 
Now  I  got  one  frind,  hosht  all  by  himself.  Be  here 
pretty  soon  now.  Alwaysh  comesh  nights  like  thish." 

"  Comes  here?  "  inquired  the  Thread  Man.  "  Am 
I  to  meet  another  interesting  character?" 

'  Yesh,  comesh  here.  Comesh  after  me.  Comesh 
like  the  clock  sthriking  twelve.  Don't  he,  boys?" 
inquired  Jimmy.  "  But  he  ain't  no  interesting  char- 

13 


AT   THE    FOOT    OF   THE    RAINBOW 

acter.  Jisht  common  man,  Dannie  is.  Honest  man. 
Never  told  a  lie  in  his  life.  Yesh,  he  did,  too.  I 
forgot.  He  liesh  for  me.  Jish  liesh  and  liesh.  Liesh 
to  Mary.  Tells  her  any  old  liesh  to  keep  me  out  of 
schrape.  You  ever  have  frind  hish  up  and  drive  ten 
milesh  for  you  night  like  thish,  and  liesh  to  get  you 
out  of  schrape?  " 

"  I  never  needed  any  one  to  lie  and  get  me  out  of 
a  scrape,"  answered  the  Thread  Man. 

Jimmy  sat  straight  and  solemnly  batted  his  eyes. 
"  Gee  I  You  musht  misshed  mosht  the  fun !  "  he 
said.  "  Me,  I  ain't  ever  misshed  any.  Always  in 
schrape.  But  Dannie  getsh  me  out.  Good  old  Dan 
nie.  Jish  like  dog.  Take  care  me  all  me  life.  See? 
Old  folks  come  on  same  boat.  Women  get  thick. 
Shettle  beside.  Build  cabinsh  together.  Work 
together,  and  domn  if  they  didn't  get  shmall  pox  and 
die  together.  Left  me  and  Dannie.  So  we  work 
together  jish  shame,  and  we  fallsh  in  love  with  the 
shame  girl.  Dannie  too  slow.  I  got  her."  Jimmy 
wiped  away  great  tears. 

"How  did  you  get  her,  Jimmy?"  asked  a  man 
who  remembered  a  story. 

"How  the  nation  did  I  get  her?"  Jimmy 
scratched  his  head,  and  appealed  to  the  Thread  Man. 

34 


RUBEN   AND   THE    MILK   PAIL 

"  Dannie  besht  man.  Milesh  besht  man  1  Never 
lie — 'cept  for  me.  Never  drink — 'cept  for  me. 
Alwaysh  save  his  money — 'cept  for  me.  Milesh 
besht  man!  Isn't  he  besht  man,  Spooley?" 

"  Ain't  it  true  that  you  served  Dannie  a  mean 
little  trick?  "  asked  the  man  who  remembered. 

Jimmy  wasn't  quite  drunk  enough,  and  the  violent 
exercise  of  the  dance  somewhat  sobered  him.  He 
glared  at  the  man.  "  Whatsh  you  talkin'  about?" 
he  demanded. 

"  I'm  just  asking  you,"  said  the  man,  "  why,  if  you 
played  straight  with  Dannie  about  the  girl,  you  never 
have  had  the  face  to  go  to  confession  since  you  mar 
ried  her." 

u  Alwaysh  send  my  wife,"  said  Jimmy  grandly. 
"  Domsh  any  woman  that  can't  confiss  enough  for 
two!" 

Then  he  hitched  his  chair  closer  to  the  Thread  Man, 
and  grew  more  confidential.  "  Shee  here,"  he  said. 
"  Firsht  I  see  your  pleated  coat,  didn't  like.  But 
head's  all  right.  Great  head!  Sthuck  on  frillsh 
there!  Want  to  be  let  in  on  something?  Got 
enough  city,  clubsh,  an'  all  that?  Want  to  taste  real 
thing?  Lesh  go  coon  huntin'.  Theysh  tree  down 
Canoper,  jish  short  pleashant  walk,  got  fify  coons 

35 


AT   THE    FOOT   OF   THE    RAINBOW 

in  it  I  Nobody  knowsh  the  tree  but  me,  shee  ?  Been 
good  to  ush  boys.  Sat  on  same  kind  of  chairs  we  do. 
Educate  ush  up  lot.  Know  mosht  that  poetry  till  I 
die,  shee  ?  *  Wonner  wash  vinters  buy,  half sh  precious 
ash  sthuff  shell/  shee?  I  got  it!  Let  you  in  on  real 
thing.  Take  grand  big  coon  skinch  back  to  Boston 
with  you.  Ringsh  on  tail.  Make  wife  fine  muff,  or 
fur  trimmingsh.  Good  to  till  boysh  at  club  about, 
shee?" 

"  Are  you  asking  me  to  go  on  a  coon  hunt  with 
you?"  demanded  the  Thread  Man.  "When? 
Where?" 

"  Corshally  invited,"  answered  Jimmy.  "  To-mor 
row  night.  Canoper.  Show  you  plashe.  Bill  Duke's 
dogs.  My  gunsh.  Moonsh  shinin'.  Dogs  howlin'. 
Shnow  flying!  Fify  coonsh  rollin*  out  one  hole! 
Shoot  all  dead !  Take  your  pick !  Tan  skin  for  you 
myself!  Roaring  big  firesh  warm  by.  Bag  finesh 
sandwiches  ever  tasted.  Milk  pail  pure  gold  drink. 
No  stop,  slop  out  going  over  bridge.  Take  jug. 
&lg  JUS-  Toss  her  up  an'  let  her  gurgle.  Dogsh 
bark.  Fire  pop.  Guns  bang.  Fifty  coons  drop. 
Boysh  all  go.  Want  to  get  more  education.  Takes 
culture  to  get  woolsh  off.  Shay,  will  you  go  ?  " 

"  I  wouldn't  miss  it  for  a  thousand  dollars,"  said 

36 


RUBEN   AND   THE    MILK   PAIL 

the  Thread  Man.  "  But  what  will  I  say  to  my 
house  for  being  a  day  late?  " 

"  Shay  gotter  grip,"  suggested  Jimmy.  "  Never 
too  late  to  getter  grip!  Will  you  all  go,  boysh  ?  " 

There  were  not  three  men  in  the  saloon  who 
knew  of  a  tree  that  had  contained  a  coon  that  winter, 
but  Jimmy  was  Jimmy,  and  to  be  trusted  for  an  expe 
dition  of  that  sort;  and  all  of  them  agreed  to  be  at 
the  saloon  ready  for  the  hunt  at  nine  o'clock  the  next 
night.  The  Thread  Man  felt  that  he  was  going  to 
see  Life.  He  immediately  invited  the  boys  to  the 
bar  to  drink  to  the  success  of  the  hunt. 

"  You  shoot  own  coon  yourself,"  offered  the  mag 
nanimous  Jimmy.  "  You  may  carrysh  my  gunsh, 
take  first  shot.  First  shot  to  Missher  O'Khayam, 
boysh,  'member  that.  Shay,  can  you  hit  anything? 
Take  a  try  now."  Jimmy  reached  behind  him,  and 
shoved  a  big  revolver  into  the  hand  of  the  Thread 
Man.  "  Whersh  target  ?  "  he  demanded. 

As  he  turned  from  the  bar,  the  milk  pail  which 
he  still  carried  under  his  arm  caught  on  an  iron  rod. 
Jimmy  gave  it  a  jerk,  and  ripped  the  rim  from  the 
bottom.  "  Thish  do,"  he  said.  "  Splendid  marksh. 
Shinesh  jish  like  coon's  eyesh  in  torch  light." 

He  carried  the  pail  to  the  back  wall  and  kung  it 
37 


AT   THE    FOOT   OF   THE    RAINBOW 

over  a  nail.  The  nail  was  straight,  and  the  pail 
flaring.  The  pail  fell.  Jimmy  kicked  it  across  the 
room,  and  then  gathered  it  up,  and  drove  a  dent  in 
it  with  his  heel  that  would  hold  over  the  nail.  Then 
he  went  back  to  the  Thread  Man.  "  Theresh  mark, 
Ruben.  Blash  away !  "  he  said. 

The  Boston  man  hesitated.  "  Whatsh  the  mat 
ter?  Cansh  shoot  off  nothing  but  your  mouth?" 
demanded  Jimmy.  He  caught  the  revolver  and  fired 
three  shots  so  rapidly  that  the  sounds  came  almost  as 
one.  Two  bullets  pierced  the  bottom  of  the  pail,  and 
the  other  the  side  as  it  fell. 

The  door  opened,  and  with  the  rush  of  cold  air 
Jimmy  gave  just  one  glance  toward  it,  and  slid  the 
revolver  into  his  pocket,  reached  for  his  hat,  and 
started  in  the  direction  of  his  coat.  "  Glad  to  see 
you,  Micnoun,"  he  said,  "  If  you  are  goingsh  home, 
I'll  jish  ride  out  with  you.  Good  night,  boysh. 
Don't  forgetsh  the  coon  hunt,"  and  Jimmy  was  gone. 

A  minute  later  the  door  opened  again,  and  this 
time  a  man  of  nearly  forty  stepped  inside.  He  had  a 
manly  form,  and  a  manly  face,  was  above  the  average 
in  looks,  and  spoke  with  a  slight  Scotch  accent. 

"  Do  any  of  ye  boys  happen  to  know  what  it  was 
Jimmy  had  with  him  when  he  came  in  here  ? >r 

38 


RUBEN   AND    THE    MILK    PAIL 

A  roar  of  laughter  greeted  the  query.  The  Thread 
Man  picked  up  the  pail.  As  he  handed  it  to  Dannie, 
he  said :  "  Mr.  Malone  said  he  was  initiating  a  new 
milk  pail,  but  I  am  afraid  he  has  overdone  the  job." 

"  Thank  ye,"  said  Dannie,  and  taking  the  battered 
thing,  he  went  out  into  the  night. 

Jimmy  was  asleep  when  he  reached  the  buggy. 
Dannie  had  long  since  found  it  convenient  to  have 
no  fence  about  his  dooryard.  He  drove  to  the  door, 
dragged  Jimmy  from  the  buggy,  and  stabled  the 
horse.  By  hard  work  he  removed  Jimmy's  coat  and 
boots,  laid  him  across  the  bed,  and  covered  him. 
Then  he  grimly  looked  at  the  light  in  the  next  cabin. 
4  Why  doesna  she  go  to  bed?"  he  said.  He  sum 
moned  courage,  and  crossing  the  space  between  the 
two  buildings,  he  tapped  on  the  window.  "  It's  me, 
Mary,"  he  called.  "  The  skins  are  only  half  done, 
and  Jimmy  is  going  to  help  me  finish.  He  will  come 
over  in  the  morning.  Ye  go  to  bed.  Ye  needna  be 
afraid.  We  will  hear  ye  if  ye  even  snore."  There 
was  no  answer,  but  by  a  movement  in  the  cabin  Dan 
nie  knew  that  Mary  was  still  dressed  and  waiting. 
He  started  back,  but  for  an  instant,  heedless  of  the 
scurrying  snow  and  biting  cold,  he  faced  the  sky. 

"  I  wonder  if  ye  have  na  found  a  gl'b  tongue  and 
39 


AT   THE    FOOT   OF   THE    RAINBOW 

light  feet  the  least  part  o'  matrimony,"  he  said, 
"  Why  in  God's  name  couldna  ye  have  married  me  ? 
I'd  like  to  know  why." 

As  he  closed  the  door,  the  cold  air  roused  Jimmy  0 
' "  Dannie,"  he  said,  "  donsh  forget  the  milk  paiL 
All  'niciate  good  now." 


THE   FIFTY   COONS  OF  THE   CANOPER 


CHAPTER    III 

THE   FIFTY   COONS   OF   THE   CANOPER 

NEAR  noon  of  the  next  day,  Jimmy 
opened  his  eyes  and  stretched  him 
self  on  Dannie's  bed.  It  did  not 
occur  to  him  that  he  was  sprawled 
across  it  in  such  a  fashion  that  if 
Dannie  had  any  sleep  that  night, 
he  had  taken  it  on  chairs  before  the  fireplace.  At  first 
Jimmy  decided  that  he  had  a  head  on  him,  and  would 
turn  over  and  go  back  where  he  came  from.  Then 
he  thought  of  the  coon  hunt,  and  sitting  on  the  edge 
of  the  bed  he  laughed,  as  he  looked  about  for  his 
boots. 

"  I  am  glad  ye  are  feeling  so  fine,"  said  Dannie  at 
the  door,  in  a  relieved  voice.  "  I  had  a  notion  that 
ye  wad  be  crosser  than  a  badger  when  ye  came  to." 

43 


AT  THE   FOOT   OF  THE   RAINBOW 

Jimmy  laughed  on. 

"What's  the  fun?"  inquired  Dannie,, 

Jimmy  thought  hard  a  minute.  Here  was  on<, 
instance  where  the  truth  would  serve  better  than  any 
invention,  so  he  virtuously  told  Dannie  all  about  it, 
Dannie  thought  of  the  lonely  little  woman  next  door, 
and  rebelled. 

"  But,  Jimmy  I  "  he  cried,  "  ye  canna  be  gone  all 
nicht  again.  It's  too  lonely  fra  Mary,  and  there's 
always  a  chance  I  might  sleep  sound  and  wadna  hear 
if  she  should  be  sick  or  need  ye." 

"  Then  she  can  just  yell  louder,  or  come  after  you, 
or  get  well,  for  I  am  going,  see?  He  was  a  thrid 
peddler  in  a  dinky  little  pleated  coat,  Dannie.  He 
laid  up  against  the  counter  with  his  feet  crossed  at  a 
dancing-girl  angle.  But  I  will  say  for  him  that  he  was 
running  at  the  mouth  with  the  finest  flow  of  language 
I  iver  heard.  I  learned  a  lot  of  it,  and  Cap  knows 
the  stuff,  and  I'm  goin'  to  have  him  get  you  the  booL 
But,  Dannie,  he  wouldn't  drink  with  us,  but  he  stayed 
to  iducate  us  up  a  little.  That  little  spool  man,  Dan° 
nie,  iducatin'  Jones  of  the  gravel  gang,  and  Bingham 
of  the  Standard,  and  York  of  the  'lectric  railway,  and 
Haines  of  the  timber  gang,  not  to  mintion  the  cham° 
peen  rat-catcher  of  the  Wabash." 

44 


THE   FIFTY   COONS  OF  THE   CANOPER 

Jimmy  hugged  himself,  and  rocked  on  the  edge 
of  the  bed. 

"  Oh,  I  can  just  see  it,  Dannie,"  he  cried.  "  I  can 
just  see  it  now  1  I  was  pretty  drunk,  but  I  wasn't  too 
drunk  to  think  of  it,  and  it  came  to  me  sudden  like." 

Dannie  stared  at  Jimmy  wide-eyed,  while  he 
explained  the  details,  and  then  he  too  began  to  laugh, 
and  the  longer  he  laughed  the  funnier  it  grew. 

"  I've  got  to  start,"  said  Jimmy.  "  IVe  an  awful 
afternoon's  work.  I  must  find  him  some  rubber  boots. 
He's  to  have  the  inestimable  privilege  of  carryin'  me 
gun,  Dannie,  and  have  the  first  shot  at  the  coons, 
fifty,  I'm  thinkin'  I  said.  And  if  I  don't  put  some 
frills  on  his  cute  little  coat!  Oh,  Dannie,  it  will 
break  the  heart  of  me  if  he  don't  wear  that  pleated 
coat!" 

Dannie  wiped  his  eyes. 

"  Come  on  to  the  kitchen,"  he  said,  "  I've  some 
thing  ready  fra  ye  to  eat.  Wash,  while  I  dish  it." 

"  I  wish  to  Heaven  you  were  a  woman,  Dannie," 
said  Jimmy.  "  A  fellow  could  fall  in  love  with  you, 
and  marry  you  with  some  satisfaction.  Crimminy, 
but  I'm  hungry!  " 

Jimmy  ate  greedily,  and  Dannie  stepped  about 
setting  the  cabin  to  rights.  It  lacked  many  feminine 

45 


AT  THE   FOOT   OF  THE   RAINBOW 

touches  that  distinguished  Jimmy's  as  the  abode  of  a 
•woman;  but  it  was  neat  and  clean,  and  there  seemed 
to  be  a  place  where  everything  belonged. 

"  Now,  I'm  off,"  said  Jimmy,  rising.  "  I'll  take 
your  gun,  because  I  ain't  goin*  to  see  Mary  till  I  get 
back." 

"Oh,  Jimmy,  dinna  do  that  I"  pleaded  Dannie. 
I  want  my  gun.  Go  and  get  your  own,  and  tell  her 
where  ye  are  going  and  what  ye  are  going  to  do. 
She'd  feel  less  lonely." 

"  I  know  how  she  would  feel  better  than  you  do,'c 
retorted  Jimmy.  "  I  am  not  going.  If  you  won't 
give  me  your  gun,  I'll  borrow  one;  or  have  all  my 
fun  spoiled." 

Dannie  took  down  the  shining  gun  and  passed  it 
over.  Jimmy  instantly  relented.  He  smiled  an  old 
boyish  smile,  that  always  caught  Dannie  in  his  softest 
spot. 

"  You  are  the  bist  frind  I  have  on  earth,  Dannie," 
he  said  winsomely.  *  You  are  a  man  worth  tying  to 
By  gum,  there's  nothing  I  wouldn't  do  for  you !  Now 
go  on,  like  the  good  fellow  you  are,  and  fix  it  up  with 
Mary." 

So  Dannie  started  for  the  wood  pile.  In  summer 
Ee  could  stand  outside  and  speak  through  the  screen. 


THE   FIFTY   COONS   OF  THE   CANOPER 

In  winter  he  had  to  enter  the  cabin  for  errands  like 
this,  and  as  Jimmy's  wood  box  was  as  heavily 
weighted  on  his  mind  as  his  own,  there  was  nothing 
unnatural  in  his  stamping  snow  on  Jimmy's  back 
stoop,  and  calling  "  Open !  "  to  Mary  at  any  hour  of 
the  day  he  happened  to  be  passing  the  wood  pile. 

He  stood  at  a  distance,  and  patiently  waited  until 
a  gray  and  black  nut-hatch  that  foraged  on  the  wood 
covered  all  the  new  territory  discovered  by  the  last 
disturbance  of  the  pile.  From  loosened  bark  Dannie 
watched  the  bird  take  several  good-sized  white  worms 
and  a  few  dormant  ants.  As  it  flew  away  he  gathered 
an  armload  of  wood.  He  was  very  careful  to  clean 
his  feet  on  the  stoop,  place  the  wood  without  tearing 
the  neat  covering  of  wall  paper,  and  brush  from  his 
coat  the  snow  and  moss  so  that  it  fell  in  the  box.  He 
had  heard  Mary  tell  the  careless  Jimmy  to  do  all 
these  things,  and  Dannie  knew  that  they  saved  her 
work.  There  was  a  whiteness  on  her  face  that  morn 
ing  that  startled  him,  and  long  after  the  last  particle 
of  moss  was  cleaned  from  his  sleeve  he  bent  over  the 
box  trying  to  get  something  said.  The  cleaning  took 
such  a  length  of  time  that  the  glint  of  a  smile  crept 
into  the  grave  eyes  of  the  woman,  and  the  grim  line 
of  her  lips  softened. 

47 


AT   THE    FOOT   OF   THE    RAINBOW 

"  Don't  be  feeling  so  badly  about  it,  Dannie,"  she 
said.  "  I  could  have  told  you  when  you  went  after 
him  last  night  that  he  would  go  back  as  soon  as  he 
wakened  to-day.  I  know  he  is  gone.  I  watched  him 
lave." 

Dannie  brushed  the  other  sleeve,  on  which  there 
had  been  nothing  at  the  start,  and  answered :  "  Noo, 
dinna  ye  misjudge  him,  Mary.  He's  goin'  to  a  coon 
hunt  to-nicht.  Dinna  ye  see  him  take  my  gun?  " 

This  evidence  so  bolstered  Dannie  that  he  faced 
Mary  with  confidence. 

"  There's  a  traveling  man  frae  Boston  in  town, 
Mary,  and  he  was  edifying  the  boys  a  little,  and 
Jimmy  dinna  like  it.  He's  going  to  show  him  a  little 
country  sport  to-nicht  to  edify  him." 

Dannie  outlined  the  plan  of  Jimmy's  campaign. 
Despite  disapproval,  and  a  sore  heart,  Mary  Malone 
had  to  smile — perhaps  as  much  over  Dannie's  eager 
ness  in  telling  what  was  contemplated  as  anything. 

"  Why  don't  you  take  Jimmy's  gun  and  go  your- 
silf  ?  "  she  asked.  "  You  haven't  had  a  day  off  since 
fishing  was  over." 

"  But  I  have  the  work  to  do,"  replied  Dannie,  "  and 
I  couldna  leave — "  He  broke  off  abruptly,  but  the 
woman  supplied  the  word. 


THE   FIFTY   COONS   OF  THE    CANOPER 

"  Why  can't  you  lave  me,  if  Jimmy  can?  I'm  not 
afraid.  The  snow  and  the  cold  will  furnish  me  pro- 
tiction  to-night.  There'll  be  no  one  to  fear.  Why 
should  you  do  Jimmy's  work,  and  miss  the  sport,  to 
guard  the  thing  he  holds  so  lightly?  " 

The  red  flushed  Dannie's  cheeks.  Mary  never 
before  had  spoken  like  that.  He  had  to  say  some 
thing  for  Jimmy  quickly,  and  quickness  was  not  his 
forte.  His  lips  opened,  but  nothing  came;  for  as 
Jimmy  had  boasted,  Dannie  never  lied,  except  for 
him,  and  at  those  times  he  had  careful  preparation 
before  he  faced  Mary.  Now,  he  was  overtaken  un 
awares.  Fie  looked  so  boyish  in  his  confusion,  the 
mother  in  Mary's  heart  was  touched. 

"  I'll  till  you  what  we'll  do,  Dannie,"  she  said. 
"  You  tind  the  stock,  and  get  in  wood  enough  so  that 
things  won't  be  frazin'  here;  and  then  you  hitch  up 
and  I'll  go  with  you  to  town,  and  stay  all  night  with 
Mrs.  Dolan.  You  can  put  the  horse  in  my  sister's 
stable,  and  whin  you  and  Jimmy  get  back,  you'll  be 
tired  enough  that  you'll  be  glad  to  ride  home.  A 
visit  with  Katie  will  be  good  for  me;  I  have  been  blue 
the  last  few  days,  and  I  can  see  you  are  just  aching 
to  go  with  the  boys.  Isn't  that  a  fine  plan?  " 

"  I  should  say  that  is  a  guid  plan,"  answered  the 
49 


AT   THE    FOOT   OF   THE    RAINBOW 

delighted  Dannie.  Anything  to  save  Mary  another 
night  alone  was  good,  and  then — that  coon  hunt  did 
sound  alluring. 

And  that  was  how  it  happened  that  at  nine  o'clock 
that  night,  just  as  arrangements  were  being  corru 
pleted  at  Casey's,  Dannie  Macnoun  stepped  into  the 
group  and  said  to  the  astonished  Jimmy:  "Mary 
wanted  to  come  to  her  sister's  over  nicht,  so  I  fixed 
everything,  and  I'm  going  to  the  coon  hunt,  too,  if 
you  boys  want  me." 

The  crowd  closed  around  Dannie,  patted  his  back 
and  cheered  him,  and  he  was  introduced  to  Mister 
O'Khayam,  of  Boston,  who  tried  to  drown  the  clamor 
enough  to  tell  what  his  name  really  was,  "  in  case  of 
accident " ;  but  he  couldn't  be  heard  for  Jimmy  yell 
ing  that  a  good  old  Irish  name  like  O'Khayam 
couldn't  be  beat  in  case  of  anything.  And  Dannie 
took  a  hasty  glance  at  the  Thread  Man,  to  see  if  he 
wore  that  hated  pleated  coat,  which  lay  at  the  bottom 
of  Jimmy's  anger. 

Then  they  started.  Casey's  wife  was  to  be  left  in 
charge  of  the  saloon,  and  the  Thread  Man  half  an 
gered  Casey  by  a  whispered  conversation  with  her  in 
a  corner.  Jimmy  cut  his  crowd  as  low  as  he  possibly 
eould,  but  it  numbered  fifteen  men,  and  no  one  counted 

50 


THE    FIFTY    COONS   OF  THE    CANOPEM 

the  dogs.  Jimmy  led  the  way,  the  Thread  Man 
beside  him,  and  the  crowd  followed.  The  walking 
would  be  best  to  follow  the  railroad  to  the  Canoper, 
and  also  they  could  cross  the  railroad  bridge  over 
the  river  and  save  quite  a  distance. 

Jimmy  helped  the  Thread  Man  into  a  borrowed 
overcoat  and  mittens,  and  loaded  him  with  a  twelve- 
pound  gun,  and  they  started.  Jimmy  carried  a  torch, 
and  as  torch  bearer  he  was  a  rank  failure,  for  he  had  a 
careless  way  of  turning  it  and  flashing  it  into  people's 
faces  that  compelled  them  to  jump  to  save  themselves,, 
Where  the  track  lay  clear  and  straight  ahead  the 
torch  seemed  to  light  it  like  day;  but  in  dark  places 
it  was  suddenly  lowered  or  wavering  somewhere  else» 
It  was  through  this  carelessness  of  Jimmy's  that  at 
the  first  cattle-guard  north  of  the  village  the  torch 
flickered  backward,  ostensibly  to  locate  Dannie,  and 
the  Thread  Man  went  crashing  down  between  the 
iron  bars,  and  across  the  gun.  Instantly  Jimmy 
sprawled  on  top  of  him,  and  the  next  two  men  fol 
lowed  suit.  The  torch  plowed  into  the  snow  and 
went  out,  and  the  yells  of  Jimmy  alarmed  the  adjoin 
ing  village. 

He  was  hurt  the  worst  of  all,  and  the  busiest  get 
ting  in  marching  order  again.  "  Howly  smoke  I  "  he 

51 


AT   THE   FOOT   OF  THE   RAINBOW 

panted.  "  I  was  havin'  the  time  of  me  life,  and  plum 
forgot  that  cow-kitcher.  Thought  it  was  a  quarter 
of  a  mile  away  yet.  And  liked  to  killed  meself  with 
me  carelessness.  But  that's  always  the  way  in  true 
sport.  You  got  to  take  the  knocks  with  the  fun." 
No  one  asked  the  Thread  Man  if  he  was  hurt,  and  he 
did  not  like  to  seem  unmanly  by  mentioning  a  skinned 
shin,  when  Jimmy  M alone  seemed  to  have  bursted 
most  of  his  inside  £  so  he  shouldered  his  gun  and 
limped  along,  now  slightly  in  the  rear  of  Jimmy. 
The  river  bridge  was  a  serious  matter  with  its  icy 
coat,  and  danger  of  specials,  and  the  torches  suddenly 
flashed  out  from  all  sides;  and  the  Thread  Man  gave 
thanks  for  Dannie  Macnoun,  who  reached  him  a 
steady  hand  across  the  ties.  The  walk  was  three 
miles,  and  the  railroad  lay  at  from  twenty  to  thirty 
feet  elevation  along  the  river  and  through  the  bot 
tom  land.  The  Boston  man  would  have  been  thank 
ful  for  the  light,  but  as  the  last  man  stepped  from 
the  ties  of  the  bridge  all  the  torches  went  out  save 
one.  Jimmy  explained  they  simply  had  to  save  them 
so  that  they  could  see  where  the  coon  fell  when  they 
began  to  shake  the  coon  tree. 

Just  beside  the  water  tank,  and  where  the  embank 
ment  was  twenty  feet  sheer,  Jimmy  was  cautioning  the 

5* 


THE   FIFTY   COONS   OF   THE    CANOPER 

Boston  man  to  look  out,  when  the  hunter  next  behind 
him  gave  a  wild  yell  and  plunged  into  his  back. 
Jimmy's  grab  for  him  seemed  more  a  push  than  a 
pull,  and  the  three  rolled  to  the  bottom,  and  half  way 
across  the  flooded  ditch.  The  ditch  was  frozen  over> 
but  they  were  shaken,  and  smothered  in  snow.  The 
whole  howling  party  came  streaming  down  the  em 
bankment.  Dannie  held  aloft  his  torch  and  discov 
ered  Jimmy  lying  face  down  in  a  drift,  making  no 
effort  to  rise,  and  the  Thread  Man  feebly  tugging  at 
him  and  imploring  some  one  to  come  and  help  get 
Malone  out.  Then  Dannie  slunk  behind  the  others 
and  yelled  until  he  was  tired. 

By  and  by  Jimmy  allowed  himself  to  be  dragged 
out. 

"  Who  the  thunder  was  that  come  buttin'  into  us?  " 
he  blustered.  "  I  don't  allow  no  man  to  butt  into 
me  when  I'm  on  an  imbankmint.  Send  the  fool  back 
here  till  I  kill  him." 

The  Thread  Man  was  pulling  at  Jimmy's  arm. 
"  Don't  mind,  Jimmy,"  he  gasped.  "  It  was  an 
accident !  The  man  slipped.  This  is  an  awful  place. 
I  will  be  glad  when  we  reach  the  woods.  I'll  feel 
safer  with  ground  that's  holding  up  trees  under  my 
feet.  Come  on,  now  I  Are  we  not  almost  there? 

53 


AT   THE    FOOT   OF   THE    RAINBOW 

Should  we  not  keep  quiet  from  now  on?  Will  we 
not  alarm  the  coons?  " 

"  Sure,"  said  Jimmy.  "  Boys,  don't  hollo  so 
much.  Every  blamed  coon  will  be  scared  out  of  its 
hollow!" 

"Amazing!"  said  the  Thread  Man.  "How 
clever!  Came  on  the  spur  of  the  moment.  I  must 
remember  that  to  tell  the  Club.  Do  not  hollo,, 
Scare  the  coon  out  of  its  hollow!  " 

"  Oh,  I  do  miles  of  things  like  that,"  said  Jimmy 
dryly,  "  and  mostly  I  have  to  do  thim  before  the  spur 
of  the  moment;  because  our  moments  go  so  domn 
fast  out  here  mighty  few  of  thim  have  time  to  grow 
their  spurs  before  they  are  gone.  Here's  where  we 
turn.  Now,  boys,  they've  been  trying  to  get  this 
biler  across  the  tracks  here,  and  they've  broke  the 
ice.  The  water  in  this  ditch  is  three  feet  deep  and 
freezing  cold.  They've  stuck  getting  the  biler  over, 
but  I  wonder  if  we  can't  cross  on  it,  and  hit  the  wood 
beyond.  Maybe  we  can  walk  it." 

Jimmy  set  a  foot  on  the  ice-covered  boiler,  howled, 
and  fell  back  on  the  men  behind  him.  "  Jimminy 
crickets,  we  niver  can  do  that !  "  he  yelled.  "  It's  a 
glare  of  ice  and  roundin'.  Let's  crawl  through  it! 
The  rist  of  you  can  get  through  if  I  can.  We'd 

54 


THE   FIFTY   COONS   OF  THE   CANOPER 

better  take  off  our  overcoats,  to  make  us  smaller.  We 
can  roll  thim  into  a  bundle,  and  the  last  man  can  pull 
it  through  behind  him." 

Jimmy  threw  off  his  coat  and  entered  the  wrecked 
oil  engine.  He  knew  how  to  hobble  through  on  his 
toes,  but  the  pleated  coat  of  the  Boston  man,  who 
tried  to  pass  through  by  stooping,  got  almost  all 
Jimmy  had  in  store  for  it.  Jimmy  came  out  all  right 
with  a  shout.  The  Thread  Man  did  not  step  half  so 
far,  and  landed  knee  deep  in  the  icy  oil-covered  slush 
of  the  ditch.  That  threw  him  off  his  balance,  and 
Jimmy  let  him  sink  one  arm  in  the  pool,  and  then 
grabbed  him,  and  scooped  oil  on  his  back  with  the 
other  hand  as  he  pulled.  During  the  excitement  and 
struggles  of  Jimmy  and  the  Thread  Man,  the  rest  of 
the  party  jumped  the  ditch  and  gathered  about,  rub 
bing  soot  and  oil  on  the  Boston  man,  and  he  did  not 
see  how  they  crossed. 

Jimmy  continued  to  rub  oil  and  soot  into  the  hated 
coat  industriously.  The  dogs  leaped  the  ditch,  and 
the  instant  they  struck  the  woods  broke  away  baying 
over  fresh  tracks.  The  men  yelled  like  mad.  Jimmy 
struggled  into  his  overcoat,  and  helped  the  almost 
insane  Boston  man  into  his  and  then  they  hurried  after 
the  dogs* 

55 


AT    THE    FOOT   OF   THE    RAINBOW 

The  scent  was  so  new  and  clear  the  dogs  simply 
raged.  The  Thread  Man  was  wild,  Jimmy  was 
wilder,  and  the  thirteen  contributed  all  they  could 
for  laughing.  Dannie  forgot  to  be  ashamed  of  him 
self  and  followed  the  example  of  the  crowd.  Deeper 
and  deeper  into  the  wild,  swampy  Canoper  led  the 
chase.  With  a  man  on  either  side  to  guide  him  into 
the  deepest  holes  and  to  shove  him  into  bushy  thick 
ets,  the  skinned,  soot-covered,  oil-coated  Boston  man 
toiled  and  sweated.  He  had  no  time  to  think,  the 
excitement  was  so  intense.  He  scrambled  out  of  each 
pitfall  set  for  him,  and  plunged  into  the  next  with 
such  uncomplaining  bravery  that  Dannie  very  shortly 
grew  ashamed,  and  crowding  up  beside  him  he  took 
the  heavy  gun  and  tried  to  protect  him  all  he  could 
without  falling  under  the  eye  of  Jimmy,  who  was 
keeping  close  watch  on  the  Boston  man. 

Wild  yelling  told  that  the  dogs  had  treed,  and 
with  shaking  fingers  the  Thread  Man  pulled  off  the 
big  mittens  he  wore  and  tried  to  lift  the  gun.  Jimmy 
flashed  a  torch,  and  sure  enough,  in  the  top  of  a 
medium  hickory  tree,  the  light  was  reflected  in  streams 
from  the  big  shining  eyes  of  a  coon.  "  Treed !  " 
yelled  Jimmy  frantically.  "  Treed !  and  big  as  an 
elephant  Company's  first  shot.  Here,  Mister 

56 


THE   FIFTY.   COONS   OF  THE    CANOPER 

O'Khayam,  here's  a  good  place  to  stand.  Gee,  what 
luck!  Coon  in  sight  first  thing,  and  Mellen's  food 
coon  at  that!  Shoot,  Mister  O'Khayam,  shoot!  " 

The  Thread  Man  lifted  the  wavering  gun,  but  it 
was  no  use. 

'  Tell  you  what,  Ruben,"  said  Jimmy.  "  You 
are  too  tired  to  shoot  straight.  Let's  take  a  rist,  and 
ate  our  lunch.  Then  we'll  cut  down  the  tree  and  let 
the  dogs  get  cooney.  That  way  there  won't  be  any 
shot  marks  in  his  skin.  What  do  you  say?  Is  that 
a  good  plan?  " 

They  all  said  that  was  the  proper  course,  so  they 
built  a  fire,  and  placed  the  Thread  Man  where  he 
could  see  the  gleaming  eyes  of  the  frightened  coon, 
and  where  all  of  them  could  feast  on  his  soot  and 
oil-covered  face.  Then  they  opened  the  bag  and 
passed  the  sandwiches. 

11 1  really  am  hungry,"  said  the  weary  Thread 
Man,  biting  into  his  with  great  relish.  His  jaws 
moved  once  or  twice  experimentally,  and  then  he 
lifted  his  handkerchief  to  his  lips. 

"  I  wish  'twas  as  big  as  me  head,"  said  Jimmy, 
taking  a  great  bite,  and  then  he  began  to  curse 
uproariously. 

"  What  ails  the  things?  "  inquired  Dannie,  ejecting 

57 


AT   THE    FOOT   OF   THE    RAINBOW 

a  mouthful.  And  then  all  of  them  began  to  spit 
birdshot,  and  started  an  inquest  simultaneously. 
Jimmy  raged.  He  swore  some  enemy  had  secured 
the  bag  and  ruined  the  feast;  but  the  boys  who  knew 
him  laughed  until  it  seemed  the  Thread  Man  must 
suspect.  He  indignantly  declared  it  was  a  dirty  trick. 
By  the  light  of  the  fire  he  knelt  and  tried  to  free  one 
of  the  sandwiches  from  its  sprinkling  of  birdshot,  so 
that  it  would  be  fit  for  poor  Jimmy,  who  had  worked 
so  hard  to  lead  them  there  and  tree  the  coon.  For 
the  first  time  Jimmy  looked  thoughtful. 

But  the  sight  of  the  Thread  Man  was  too  much 
for  him,  and  a  second  later  he  was  thrusting  an  ax 
into  the  hands  accustomed  to  handling  a  thread  case. 
Then  he  led  the  way  to  the  tree,  and  began  chopping 
at  the  green  hickory.  It  was  slow  work,  and  soon 
the  perspiration  streamed.  Jimmy  pulled  off  his 
coat  and  threw  it  aside.  He  assisted  the  Thread  Man 
out  of  his  and  tossed  it  behind  him.  The  coat  alighted 
in  the  fire,  and  was  badly  scorched  before  it  was 
rescued.  But  the  Thread  Man  was  game.  Fifty 
times  that  night  it  had  been  said  that  he  was  to  have 
the  first  coon,  of  course  he  should  work  for  it.  So 
with  the  ax  with  which  Casey  chopped  ice  for  his 
refrigerator,  the  Boston  man  banged  against  the 

58 


THE   FIFTY   COONS   OF  THE    CANOPER 

hickory,  and  swore  to  himself  because  he  could  not 
make  the  chips  fly  as  Jimmy  did. 

"  Iverybody  clear  out !  "  cried  Jimmy.  "  Number 
one  is  coming  down.  Get  the  coffee  sack  ready.  Baste 
cooney  over  the  head  and  shove  him  in  before  <-he 
dogs  tear  the  skin.  We  want  a  dandy  big  pelt  out  of 
this!" 

There  was  a  crack,  and  the  tree  fell  with  a  crash. 
All  the  Boston  man  could  see  was  that  from  a  tum 
bled  pile  of  branches,  dogs,  and  men,  some  one  at 
last  stepped  back,  gripping  a  sack,  and  cried :  "  Got 
it  all  right,  and  it's  a  buster." 

"  Now  for  the  other  forty-nine !  "  shouted  Jimmy, 
straining  into  his  coat. 

"  Come  on,  boys,  we  must  secure  a  coon  for  every 
one,"  cried  the  Thread  Man,  heartily  as  any  member 
of  the  party  might  have  said  it.  But  the  rest  of  the 
boys  suddenly  grew  tired.  They  did  not  want  any 
coons,  and  after  some  persuasion  the  party  agreed  to 
go  back  to  Casey's  to  warm  up.  The  Thread  Man 
got  into  his  scorched,  besooted,  oil-smeared  coat, 
and  the  overcoat  which  had  been  loaned  him,  and 
shouldered  the  gun.  Jimmy  hesitated.  But  Dannie 
came  up  to  the  Boston  man  and  said :  "  There's  a 
place  in  my  shoulder  that  gun  juist  fits,  and  it's  lone* 

59 


Al     THK    FOOi    OF    THE    KA1JNBOVV 

some  without  it.  Pass  it  over."  Only  the  sorely 
bruised  and  strained  Thread  Man  knew  how  glad 
he  was  to  let  it  go. 

It  was  Dannie,  too,  who  whispered  to  the  Thread 
Man  to  keep  close  behind  him;  and  when  the  party 
trudged  back  to  Casey's  it  was  so  surprising  how 
much  better  he  knew  the  way  going  back  than  Jimmy 
had  known  it  coming  out,  that  the  Thread  Man  did 
remark  about  it.  But  Jimmy  explained  that  after 
one  had  been  out  a  few  hours  their  eyes  became  accus 
tomed  to  the  darkness  and  they  could  see  better.  That 
was  reasonable,  for  the  Thread  Man  knew  it  was 
true  in  his  own  experience. 

So  they  got  back  to  Casey's,  and  found  a  long 
table  set,  and  a  steaming  big  oyster  supper  ready  for 
them;  and  that  explained  the  Thread  Man's  confer 
ence  with  Mrs.  Casey.  He  took  the  head  of  the 
table,  with  his  back  to  the  wall,  and  placed  Jimmy 
on  his  right  and  Dannie  on  his  left.  Mrs.  Casey  had 
furnished  soap  and  towels,  and  at  least  part  of  the 
Boston  man's  face  was  clean.  The  oysters  were  fine, 
and  well  cooked.  The  Thread  Man  recited  more  of 
the  wonderful  poem  for  Dannie's  benefit,  and  told 
jokes  and  stories.  They  laughed  until  they  were  so 
weak  they  could  only  pound  the  table  to  indicate  how 

60 


THE   FIFTY;  COONS   OF  THE    CANOPER 

funny  it  was.  And  at  the  close,  just  as  they  were 
making  a  movement  to  rise,  Casey  proposed  that  he 
bring  in  the  coon,  and  let  all  of  them  get  a  good  look 
at  their  night's  work.  The  Thread  Man  applauded, 
and  Casey  brought  in  the  bag  and  shook  it  bottom  up 
over  the  floor.  Therefrom  there  issued  a  poor,  fright 
ened,  maltreated  little  pet  coon  of  Mrs.  Casey's,  and 
it  dexterously  ran  up  Casey's  trouser  leg  and  hid  its 
nose  in  his  collar,  its  chain  dragging  behind.  And 
that  was  so  funny  the  boys  doubled  over  the  table, 
and  laughed  and  screamed  until  a  sudden  movement 
brought  them  to  their  senses. 

The  Thread  Man  was  on  his  feet,  and  his  eyes 
were  no  laughing  matter.  He  gripped  his  chair  back, 
and  leaned  toward  Jimmy.  "  You  walked  me  into 
that  cattle-guard  on  purpose !  "  he  cried. 

Silence. 

"  You  led  me  into  that  boiler,  and  fixed  the  oil  at 
the  end!" 

No  answer. 

'  You  mauled  me  all  over  the  woods,  and  loaded 
those  sandwiches  yourself,  and  sored  me  for  a  week 
trying  to  chop  down  a  tree  with  a  pet  coon  chained 

in  it!    You !    You !    What  had  I  done  to 

you?" 

61 


AT   THE    FOOT   OF   THE    RAINBOW 

*  You  wouldn't  drink  with  me,  and  I  didn't  like 
the  domned,  dinky,  little  pleated  coat  you  wore," 
answered  Jimmy. 

One  instant  amazement  held  sway  on  the  Thread 
Man's  face;  the  next,  "  And  damned  if  I  like  yours !  " 
he  cried,  and  catching  up  a  bowl  half  filled  with  broth 
he  flung  it  squarely  into  Jimmy's  face. 

Jimmy,  with  a  great  oath,  sprang  at  the  Boston 
man.  But  once  in  his  life  Dannie  was  quick.  For 
the  only  time  on  record  he  was  ahead  of  Jimmy,  and 
he  caught  the  uplifted  fist  in  a  grip  that  Jimmy's  use 
of  whiskey  and  suffering  from  rheumatism  had  made 
his  master. 

"  Steady — Jimmy,  wait  a  minute,"  panted  Dan 
nie.  '*  This  mon  is  na  even  wi'  ye  yet.  When  every 
muscle  in  your  body  is  strained,  and  every  inch  of  it 
bruised,  and  ye  are  daubed  wi'  soot,  and  bedraggled 
in  oil,  and  he's  made  ye  the  laughin'  stock  fr* 
strangers  by  the  hour,  ye  will  be  juist  even,  and  ready 
to  talk  to  him.  Every  minute  of  the  nicht  he's  proved 
himself  a  mon,  and  right  now  he's  showed  he's  n& 
coward.  It's  up  to  ye,  Jimmy.  Do  it  royal.  Bt  &* 
much  of  a  mon  as  he  is.  Say  ye  are  sorry !  " 

One  tense  instant  the  two  friends  faced  tach 
other. 

62 


THE   FIFTY   COONS  OF  THE   CANOPER 

Then  Jimmy's  fist  unclenched,  and  his  arms 
dropped.  Dannie  stepped  back,  trying  to  breathe 
lightly,  and  it  was  between  Jimmy  and  the  Thread 
Man. 

"  I  am  sorry,"  said  Jimmy.  "  I  carried  my  objic- 
tions  to  your  wardrobe  too  far.  If  you'll  let  me,  1*11 
clean  you  up.  If  you'll  take  it,  I'll  raise  you  the 
price  of  a  new  coat,  but  I'll  be  domn  if  I'll  hilp  put 
such  a  man  as  you  are  into  another  of  the  fiminine 
ginder." 

The  Thread  Man  laughed,  and  shook  Jimmy's 
hand;  and  then  Jimmy  proved  why  every  one  liked 
him  by  turning  to  Dannie  and  taking  his  hand, 
'  Thank  you,  Dannie,"  he  said.  "  You  sure  hilped 
me  to  mesilf  that  time.  If  I'd  hit  him,  I  couldn't 
have  hild  up  me  head  in  the  morning." 


WHEN  THE   KINGFISHER  AND  THE 
BLACK  BASS  CAME  HOME 


CHAPTER    IV 

WHEN    THE    KINGFISHER    AND    THE     BLACK    BASS 
CAME    HOME 

RIMMINY,  but  you  are  slow." 
Jimmy  made  the  statement,  not  as 
one  voices  a  newly  discovered  fact, 
but  as  one  iterates  a  time-worn 
truism.  He  sat  on  a  girder  of  the 
Limberlost  bridge,  and  scraped 
the  black  muck  from  his  boots  in  a  little  heap.  Then 
he  twisted  a  stick  into  the  top  of  his  rat  sack,  prepara 
tory  to  the  walk  home.  The  ice  had  broken  on  the 
river,  and  now  the  partners  had  to  separate  at  the 
bridge,  each  following  his  own  line  of  traps  to  the 
last  one,  and  return  to  the  bridge  so  that  Jimmy 
could  cross  to  reach  home.  Jimmy  was  always  wait 
ing,  after  the  river  opened,  and  it  was  a  remarkable 


AT   THE    FOOT   OF  THE    RAINBOW 

fact  to  him  that  as  soon  as  the  ice  was  gone  his  luck 
failed  him.  This  evening  the  bag  at  his  feet  proved 
by  its  bulk  that  it  contained  just  about  one-half  the 
rats  Dannie  carried. 

"  I  must  set  my  traps  in  my  own  way,"  answered 
Dannie  calmly.  "  If  I  stuck  them  into  the  water  ony 
way  and  went  on,  so  would  the  rats.  A  trap  is  no  a 
trap  unless  it  is  concealed." 

"  That's  it !  Go  on  and  give  me  a  sarmon !  "  urged 
Jimmy  derisively.  "  Who's  got  the  bulk  of  the  rats 
all  winter?  The  truth  is  that  my  side  of  the  river  is 
the  best  catching  in  the  extrame  cold,  and  you  get  the 
most  after  the  thaws  begin  to  come.  The  rats  seem 
to  have  a  lot  of  burrows  and  shift  around  among 
thim.  One  time  I'm  ahead,  and  the  nixt  day  they  go 
to  you.  But  it  don't  mane  that  you  are  any  better 
trapper  than  I  am.  I  only  got  siven  to-night.  That's 
a  sweet  day's  work  for  a  whole  man.  Fifteen  cints 
apace  for  sivin  rats.  I've  a  big  notion  to  cut  the 
rat  business,  and  compete  with  Rocky  in  ile." 

Dannie  laughed.  "  Let's  hurry  home,  and  get  the 
skinning  over  before  nicht,"  he  said.  "  I  think  the 
days  are  growing  a  little  longer.  I  seem  to  scent 
spring  in  the  air  to-day." 

Jimmy  looked  at  Dannie's  mud-covered,  wet  cloth* 


THE  KINGFISHER  AND  THE  BLACK  BASS 

ing,  his  blood-stained  mittens  and  coat  back,  and  the 
dripping  bag  he  had  rested  on  the  bridge.  "  I've 
got  some  music  in  me  head,  and  some  action  in  me 
feet,"  he  said,  "  but  I  guess  God  forgot  to  put  much 
sintimint  into  me  heart.  The  breath  of  spring  niver 
got  so  strong  with  me  that  I  could  smell  it  above  a 
bag  of  muskrats  and  me  trappin'  clothes.1' 

He  arose,  swung  his  bag  to  his  shoulder,  and 
together  they  left  the  bridge,  and  struck  into  the  road 
leading  to  Rainbow  Bottom.  It  was  late  February. 
The  air  was  raw,  and  the  walking  heavy.  Jimmy 
saw  little  around  him,  and  there  was  little  Dannie 
did  not  see.  To  him,  his  farm,  the  river,  and  the 
cabins  in  Rainbow  Bottom  meant  all  there  was  of  life, 
for  all  he  loved  on  earth  was  there.  But  loafing  in 
town  on  rainy  days,  when  Dannie  sat  with  a  book; 
hearing  the  talk  at  Casey's,  at  the  hotel,  and  on  the 
streets,  had  given  Jimmy  different  views  of  life,  and 
made  his  lot  seem  paltry  compared  with  that  of 
men  who  had  greater  possessions.  On  days  when 
Jimmy's  luck  was  bad,  or  when  a  "fever  of  thirst 
burned  him,  he  usually  discoursed  on  some  sort  of 
intangible  experience  that  men  had,  which  he  called 
"  seeing  life."  His  rat  bag  was  unusually  light 
that  night,  and  in  a  vague  way  he  connected  it  with 


AT   THE    FOOT   OF   THE    RAINBOW 

the  breaking  up  of  the  ice.  When  the  rirer  lay  solid 
he  usually  carried  home  just  twice  the  rats  Dannie 
had,  and  as  he  had  patronized  Dannie  all  his  life,  it 
fretted  Jimmy  to  be  behind  even  one  day  at  the  traps. 
/  "  Be  Jasus,  I  get  tired  of  this !  "  he  said.  "  Always 
and  foriver  the  same  thing.  I  kape  goin'  this  trail 
so  much  that  I've  got  a  speakin'  acquaintance  with 
meself.  Some  of  these  days  I'm  goin'  to  take  a  trip, 
and  have  a  little  change.  I'd  like  to  see  Chicago,  and 
as  far  west  as  the  middle,  anyway." 

"  Well,  ye  canna  go,"  said  Dannie.  "  Ye  mind 
the  time  when  ye  were  married,  and  I  thought  I'd  be 
best  away,  and  packed  my  trunk?  When  ye  and 
Mary  caught  me,  ye  got  mad  as  fire,  and  she  cried, 
and  I  had  to  stay.  Just  ye  try  going,  and  I'll  get 
mad,  and  Mary  will  cry,  and  ye  will  stay  at  home, 
juist  like  I  did." 

There  was  a  fear  deep  in  Dannie's  soul  that  some 
day  Jimmy  would  fulfill  this  long-time  threat  of  his. 
"  I  d'mna  think  there  is  ony  place  in  all  the  world  so 
guid  as  the  place  ye  own,"  Dannie  said  earnestly.  "  I 
dinna  care  a  penny  what  anybody  else  has,  probably 
they  have  what  they  want.  What  /  want  is  the  land 
that  my  feyther  owned  before  me,  and  the  house  that 
my  mither  kept.  And  they'll  have  to  show  me  the 

70 


THE  KINGFISHER  AND  THE  BLACK  BASS 

place  they  call  Eden  before  I'll  give  up  that  it  beats 
Rainbow  Bottom — Summer,  Autumn,  or  Winter.  I 
dinna  give  twa  hoops  fra  the  palaces  men  rig  up,  or 
the  thing  they  call  *  landscape  gardening  When 
did  men  ever  compete  with  the  work  of  God  ?  All  the 
men  that  have  peopled  the  earth  since  time  began  could 
have  their  brains  rolled  into  one,  and  he  would  stand 
helpless  before  the  anatomy  of  one  of  the  rats  in  these 
bags.  The  thing  God  does  is  guid  enough  fra  me." 

"  Why  don't  you  take  a  short  cut  to  the  matin'- 
house?"  inquired  Jimmy. 

"  Because  I  wad  have  nothing  to  say  when  I  got 
there,"  retorted  Dannie.  "  I've  a  meetin'-house  ol 
my  ain,  and  it  juist  suits  me ;  and  I've  a  God,  too,  and 
whether  He  is  spirit  or  essence,  He  suits  me.  I  dinna 
want  to  be  held  to  sharper  account  than  He  faces  me 
up  to,  when  I  Hold  communion  with  mesel'.  I  dinna 
want  any  better  meetin'-house  than  Rainbow  Bottom. 
I  dinna  care  for  better  talkin'  than  the  '  tongues  in  the 
trees ' ;  sounder  preachin'  than  the  *  sermons  in  the 
stones ' ;  finer  rcadin'  than  the  books  in  the  river ; 
no,  nor  better  music  than  the  choir  o'  the  birds,  each 
singin*  in  its  arn  way  fit  to  burst  its  leetle  throat  about 
the  mate  it  won,  the  nest  they  built,  and  the  babiti 
they  are  raising.  That's  what  I  call  the  music  o' 

7* 


AT   THE    FOOT   OF   THE    RAINBOW 

spontaneous,  and  the  soul  o'  joy.  Give  it  me  every 
time  compared  with  notes  frae  a  book.  And  all  the 
fine  places  that  the  wealth  o'  men  ever  evolved  winna 
begin  to  compare  with  the  work  o'  God,  and  IVe  got 
that  around  me  every  day." 

"  But  I  want  to  see  life,"  wailed  Jimmy. 

14  Then  open  your  eyes,  mon,  fra  the  love  o'  mercy, 
open  your  eyes !  There's  life  sailing  over  your  heid 
in  that  flock  o'  crows  going  home  fra  the  night.  Why 
dinna  ye,  or  some  other  mon,  fly  like  that?  There's 
living  roots,  and  seeds,  and  insects,  and  worms  by  the 
million  wherever  ye  are  setting  foot.  Why  dinna  ye 
creep  into  the  earth  and  sleep  through  the  winter, 
and  renew  your  life  with  the  spring?  The  trouble  with 
ye,  Jimmy,  is  that  yeVe  always  followed  your  heels. 
If  ye'd  stayed  by  the  books,  as  I  begged  ye,  there 
now  would  be  that  in  your  heid  that  would  teach  ye 
that  the  old  story  of  the  Rainbow  is  true.  There  is 
a  pot  of  gold,  of  the  purest  gold  ever  smelted,  at  its 
foot,  and  weVe  been  born,  and  own  a  good  living 
richt  there.  An'  the  gold  is  there;  that  I  know, 
wealth  to  shame  any  bilious  millionaire,  and  both  of 
us  missing  the  pot  when  we  hold  the  location.  Ye've 
the  first  chance,  mon,  fra  in  your  life  is  the  great 
prize  mine  will  forever  lack.  I  canna  get  to  the 

•72 


THE  KINGFISHER  AND  THE  BLACK  BASS 

bottom  of  the  pot,  but  I'm  going  to  come  close  to  it 
as  I  can ;  and  as  for  ye,  empty  it !  Take  it  all !  It's 
yours!  It's  fra  the  mon  who  finds  it,  and  we  own 
the  location." 

"  Aha !  We  own  the  location,"  repeated  Jimmy. 
"  I  should  say  we  do !  Behold  our  hotbed  of  riches ! 
I  often  lay  awake  nights  thinkin'  about  my  attach- 
mint  to  the  place. 

"  How  dear  to  me  heart  are  the  scanes  of  me  childhood, 
Fondly  gaze  on  the  cabin  where  I'm  doomed  to  dwell, 
Those  chicken-coop,  thim  pig-pen,  these  highly  piled-wood 
Around  which  I've  always  raised  Hell." 

Jimmy  turned  in  at  his  own  gate,  while  Dannie 
passed  to  the  cabin  beyond.  He  entered,  set  the  drip 
ping  rat  bag  in  a  tub,  raked  open  the  buried  fire  and 
threw  on  a  log.  He  always  ate  at  Jimmy's  when 
Jimmy  was  at  home,  so  there  was  no  supper  to  get. 
He  went  out  to  the  barn,  wading  mud  ankle  deep, 
fed  and  bedded  his  horses,  and  then  went  over  to 
Jimmy's  barn,  and  completed  his  work  up  to  milking. 
Jimmy  came  out  with  the  pail,  and  a  very  large  hole 
in  the  bottom  of  it  was  covered  with  dried  dough. 
Jimmy  looked  at  it  disapprovingly. 

"  I  bought  a  new  milk  pail  the  other  night.  I 
73 


AT   THE    FOOT   OF   THE    RAINBOW 

know  I  did,"  he  said.  "  Mary  was  kicking  for  one 
a  month  ago,  and  I  went  after  it  the  night  I  met  Ruben 
O'Khayam.  Now  what  the  nation  did  I  do  with  that 
pail?" 

"  I  have  wondered  mysel',"  answered  Dannie,  as 
he  leaned  over  and  lifted  a  strange  looking  object 
from  a  barrel.  "  This  is  what  ye  brought  home, 
Jimmy." 

Jimmy  stared  at  the  shining,  battered,  bullet-punc 
tured  pail  in  amazement.  Slowly  he  turned  it  over 
and  around,  and  then  he  lifted  bewildered  eyes  to 
Dannie. 

"  Are  you  foolin'  ?  "  he  asked.  "  Did  I  bring  that 
tiling  home  in  that  shape?  " 

"  Honest!  "  said  Dannie. 

"  I  remember  buyin'  it,"  said  Jimmy  slowly.  "  I 
remember  hanging  on  to  it  like  grim  death,  for  it 
was  the  wan  excuse  I  had  for  goin',  but  I  don't  just 
know  how — !  "  Slowly  he  revolved  the  pail,  and 
then  he  rolled  over  in  the  hay  and  laughed  until  he 
was  tired.  Then  he  sat  up  and  wiped  his  eyes. 
"  Great  day !  What  a  lot  of  fun  I  must  have  had 
before  I  got  that  milk  pail  into  that  shape,"  he  said. 
"  Domned  if  I  don't  go  straight  to  town  and  buy 
another  one ;  yes,  bedad !  I'll  buy  two !  "  , 

74 


THE  KINGFISHER  AND  THE  BLACK  BASS 

In  the  meantime  Dannie  milked,  fed  and  watered 
the  cattle,  and  Jimmy  picked  up  the  pail  of  milk  and 
carried  it  to  the  house.     Dannie  came  by  the  wood 
pile  and  brought  in  a  heavy  load.    Then  they  washed,  , 
and  sat  down  to  supper. 

"  Seems  to  me  you  look  unusually  perky,"  said 
Jimmy  to  his  wife.  "  Had  any  good  news?  " 

"Splendid!  "said  Mary.  "  I  am  so  glad!  And  1 
don't  belave  you  two  stupids  know  I  " 

"  You  niver  can  tell  by  lookin'  at  me  what  I  know," 
said  Jimmy.  "  Whin  I  look  the  wisest  I  know  the 
least.  Whin  I  look  like  a  fool,  I'm  thinkin'  like  a 
philosopher." 

"  Give  it  up,"  said  Dannie  promptly.  You  would 
not  catch  him  knowing  anything  it  would  make 
Mary's  eyes  shine  to  tell. 

"  Sap  is  running !  "  announced  Mary. 

;*  The  Divil  you  say!  "  cried  Jimmy. 

"  It  is !  "  beamed  Mary.  "  It  will  be  full  in  threo  ; 
days.  Didn't  you  notice  how  green  the  maples  are? 
I  took  a  little  walk  down  to  the  bottom  to-day.  1 
niver  in  all  my  life  was  so  tired  of  winter,  and  the 
first  thing  I  saw  was  that  wet  look  on  the  maples,  and 
on  the  low  land,  where  they  are  sheltered  and  yet  get 
the  sun,  several  of  them  are  oozing  I  " 

75 


AT   THE    FOOT   OF   THE    RAINBOW 

"  Grand!  "  cried  Dannie.  "  Jimmy,  we  must  peel 
those  rats  in  a  hurry,  and  then  clean  the  spiles,  and 
see  how  mony  new  ones  we  will  need.  To-morrow 
we  must  come  frae  the  traps  early  and  look  up  our 
troughs." 

"  Oh,  for  pity  sake,  don't  pile  up  work  enough  to 
kill  a  horse,"  cried  Jimmy.  "  Ain't  you  ever  happy 
unless  you  are  workin'  ?  " 

"  Yes,"  said  Dannie.  "  Sometimes  I  find  a  book 
that  suits  me,  and  sometimes  the  fish  bite,  and  some 
times  it's  in  the  air." 

"  Git  the  condinser,"  said  Jimmy.  "  And  that  re 
minds  me,  Mary,  Dannie  smelled  spring  in  the  air 
to-day." 

"  Well,  what  if  he  did?  "  questioned  Mary.  "  I 
can  always  smell  it.  A  little  later,  when  the  sap  begins 
to  run  in  all  the  trees,  and  the  buds  swell,  and  the  ice 
breaks  up,  and  the  wild  geese  go  over,  I  always  scent 
spring;  and  when  the  catkins  bloom,  then  it  comes 
strong,  and  I  just  love  it.  Spring  is  my  happiest  time. 
I  have  more  news,  too !  " 

"  Don't  spring  so  much  at  wance !  "  cried  Jimmy, 
"  you'll  spoil  my  appetite." 

"  I  guess  there's  no  danger,"  replied  Mary. 

"  There  is,"  said  Jimmy.  "  At  laste  in  the  fore 

76 


THE  KINGFISHER  AND  THE  BLACK  BASS 

siction.  *  Appe  '  is  Frinch,  and  manes  atin'.  '  Tite  ' 
is  Irish,  and  manes  drinkin'.  Appetite  manes  atin' 
and  drinkin'  togither.  '  Tite '  manes  drinkin'  with 
out  atin',  see?  " 

"  I  was  just  goin'  to  mintion  it  meself,"  said  Mary, 
"  it's  where  you  come  in  strong.  There's  no  danger 
of  anybody  spoilin'  your  drinkin',  if  they  could  inter 
fere  with  your  atin'.  You  guess,  Dannie." 

"  The  dominick  hen  is  setting,"  ventured  Dannie, 
and  Mary's  face  showed  that  he  had  blundered  on 
the  truth. 

"  She  is,"  affirmed  Mary,  pouring  the  tea,  "  but 
k  is  real  mane  of  you  to  guess  it,  when  I've  so  few 
new  things  to  tell.  She  has  been  setting  two  days, 
and  she  went  over  fifteen  fresh  eggs  to-day.  In  just 
twinty-one  days  I  will  have  fiftane  the  cunningest 
little  chickens  you  ever  saw,  and  there  is  more  yet.  I 
found  the  nest  of  the  gray  goose,  and  there  are  three 
big  eggs  in  it,  all  buried  in  feathers.  She  must  have 
stripped  her  breast  almost  bare  to  cover  them.  And 
I'm  the  happiest  I've  been  all  winter.  I  hate  the 
long,  lonely,  shut-in  time.  I  am  going  on  a  delightful 
spree.  I  shall  help  boil  down  sugar-water  and  make 
maple  syrup.  I  shall  set  hins,  and  geese,  and  turkeys. 
I  shall  make  soap,  and  clane  house,  and  plant  seed, 

77 


AT  THE    FOOT   OF   THE   RAINBOW 

and  all  my  flowers  will  bloom  again.  Goody  for 
summer;  it  can't  come  too  soon  to  suit  me." 

"  Lord !  I  don't  see  what  there  is  in  any  of  those 
things,"  said  Jimmy.  "  I've  got  just  one  sign  of 
spring  that  interests  me.  If  you  want  to  see  me  caper, 
somebody  mention  to  me  the  first  rattle  of  the  King 
fisher.  Whin  he  comes  home,  and  house  cleans  in  his 
tunnel  in  the  embankment,  and  takes  possession  of  his 
stump  in  the  river,  the  nixt  day  the  Black  Bass  locates 
in  the  deep  water  below  the  shoals.  Thin  you  can 
count  me  in.  There  is  where  business  begins  for 
Jimmy  boy.  I  am  going  to  have  that  Bass  this  sum 
mer,  if  I  don't  plant  an  acre  of  corn." 

"  I  bet  you  that's  the  truth!  "  said  Mary,  so  quickly 
that  both  men  laughed. 

"  Ahem !  "  said  Dannie.  "  Then  I  will  have  to  do 
my  plowing  by  a  heidlicht,  so  I  can  fish  as  much  as 
ye  do  in  the  day  time.  I  hereby  make,  enact,  and 
enforce  a  law  that  neither  of  us  is  to  fish  in  the  Bass 
hole  when  the  other  is  not  there  to  fish  also.  That 
is  the  only  fair  way.  I've  as  much  richt  to  him  as 
ye  have." 

"  Of  course!  "  said  Mary.  "  That  is  a  fair  way. 
Make  that  a  rule,  and  kape  it.  If  you  both  fish  at 
once,  it's  got  to  be  a  fair  catch  for  the  one  that  lands 

78 


KINGFISHER  AND  THE  BLACK  BASS 

it;  but  whoever  catches  it,  /  shall  ate  it,  so  It  don't 
much  matter  to  me." 

"  You  ate  it !  "  howled  Jimmy.  "  I  guess  not.  Not 
a  taste  of  that  fish,  when  he's  teased  me  for  years? 
He's  as  big  as  a  whale.  If  Jonah  had  had  the  good 
fortune  of  falling  in  the  Wabash,  and  being  swallowed 
by  the  Black  Bass,  he  could  have  ridden  from  Peru  to 
Terre  Haute,  and  suffered  no  inconvanience  makin1  a 
landin'.  Siven  pounds  he'll  weigh  by  the  steelyard 
I'll  wager  you." 

"  Five,  Jimmy,  five,"  corrected  Dannie. 

"  Siven !  "  shouted  Jimmy.  "  Ain't  I  hooked  him 
repeated?  Ain't  I  seen  him  broadside?  I  wonder 
if  thim  domn  lines  of  mine  have  gone  and  rotted." 

He  left  his  supper,  carrying  his  chair,  and  standing 
on  it  he  began  rummaging  the  top  shelf  of  the  cup 
board  for  his  box  of  tackle.  He  knocked  a  bottle 
from  the  shelf,  but  caught  it  in  mid-air  with  a  dex 
terous  sweep. 

"  Spirits  are  movin',"  cried  Jimmy,  as  he  restored 
the  camphor  to  its  place.  He  carried  the  box  to  the 
window,  and  became  so  deeply  engrossed  in  its  con^ 
tents  that  he  did  not  notice  when  Dannie  picked  up 
his  rat  bag  and  told  him  to  come  on  and  help  skin 
their  day's  catch.  Mary  tried  to  send  him,  and  he 

79 


AT   THE    FOOT   OF   THE    RAINBOW 

was  going  in  a  minute,  but  the  minute  stretched  and 
stretched,  and  both  of  them  were  surprised  when  the 
door  opened  and  Dannie  entered  with  an  armload  of 
spiles,  and  the  rat-skinning  was  all  over.  So  Jimmy 
went  on  unwinding  lines,  and  sharpening  hooks,  and 
talking  fish;  while  Dannie  and  Mary  cleaned  the 
spiles,  and  figured  on  how  many  new  elders  must  be 
cut  and  prepared  for  more  on  the  morrow;  and 
planned  the  sugar  making. 

When  it  was  bedtime,  and  Dannie  had  gone  and 
Jimmy  and  Mary  closed  their  cabin  for  the  night, 
Mary  stepped  to  the  window  that  looked  on  Dannie's 
home  to  see  if  his  light  was  burning.  It  was,  and 
clear  in  its  rays  stood  Dannie,  stripping  yard  after 
yard  of  fine  line  through  his  fingers,  and  carefully 
examining  it.  Jimmy  came  and  stood  beside  her  as 
she  wondered. 

"  Why,  the  domn  son  of  the  Rainbow,"  he  cried, 
"  if  he  ain't  testing  his  fish  lines !  " 

The  next  day  Mary  Malone  was  rejoicing  when 
the  men  returned  from  trapping,  and  gathering  and 
cleaning  the  sugar-water  troughs.  There  had  been  a 
robin  at  the  well. 

"  Rape  your  eye  on  Mary,"  advised  Jimmy.  "  If 
she  ain't  watched  close  from  this  time  on,  she'll  be 

80 


THE  KINGFISHER  AND  THE  BLACK  BASS 

settin'  hins  in  snowdrifts,  and  pouring  biling  water 
on  the  daffodils  to  sprout  them." 

On  the  first  of  March,  five  killdeers  flew  over  in  a 
flock,  and  a  half  hour  later  one  straggler  crying 
piteously  followed  in  their  wake. 

"Oh,  the  mane  things!"  almost  sobbed  Mary. 
"  Why  don't  they  wait  for  it?  " 

She  stood  by  a  big  kettle  of  boiling  syrup  at  the 
sugar  camp,  almost  helpless  in  Jimmy's  boots  and 
Dannie's  great  coat.  Jimmy  cut  and  carried  wood, 
and  Dannie  hauled  sap.  All  the  woods  were  stirred 
by  the  smell  of  the  curling  smoke  and  the  odor  of  the 
boiling  sap,  fine  as  the  fragrance  of  flowers.  Bright- 
eyed  deer  mice  peeped  at  her  from  under  old  logs,  the 
chickadees,  nuthatches,  and  jays  started  an  investi 
gating  committee  to  learn  if  anything  interesting  to 
them  was  occurring.  One  gayly-dressed  little  sap- 
sucker  hammered  a  tree  near  by  and  scolded  vig 
orously. 

"  Right  you  are !  "  said  Mary.  "  It's  a  pity  you're 
not  big  enough  to  drive  us  from  the  woods,  for  into 
one  kittle  goes  enough  sap  to  last  you  a  lifetime." 

The  squirrels  were  sure  it  was  an  intrusion,  and 
raced  among  the  branches  overhead,  barking  loud 
defiance.  At  night  the  three  rode  home  on  the  sled, 

81 


AT  THE    FOOT   OF   THE    RAINBOW 

with  the  syrup  jugs  beside  them,  and  Mary's  apron 
was  filled  with  big  green  rolls  of  pungent  woolly-dog 
moss. 

Jimmy  built  the  fires,  Dannie  fed  the  stock,  and 
Mary  cooked  the  supper.  When  it  was  over,  while 
the  men  warmed  chilled  feet  and  fingers  by  the  fire, 
Mary  poured  some  syrup  into  a  kettle,  and  just  as 
it  "  sugared  off  "  she  dipped  streams  of  the  amber 
sweetness  into  cups  of  water.  All  of  them  ate  it  like 
big  children,  and  oh,  but  it  was  good!  Two  days 
more  of  the  same  work  ended  sugar  making,  but 
for  the  next  three  days  Dannie  gathered  the  rapidly 
diminishing  sap  for  the  vinegar  barrel. 

Then  there  were  more  hens  ready  to  set,  water 
must  be  poured  hourly  into  the  ash  hopper  to  start  the 
flow  of  lye  for  soap  making,  and  the  smoke  house 
must  be  gotten  ready  to  cure  the  hams  and  pickled 
meats,  so  that  they  would  keep  during  warm  weather. 
The  bluebells  were  pushing  through  the  sod  in  a  race 
with  the  Easter  and  star  flowers.  One  morning  Mary 
aroused  Jimmy  with  a  pull  at  his  arm. 

"  Jimmy,  Jimmy,"  she  cried.    "  Wake  up !  " 

"  Do  you  mane  *  wake  up '  or  get  up  ?  "  asked 
Jimmy  sleepily. 

"  Both,"  cried  Mary.    "The  larks  are  here !  " 

82 


THE  KINGFISHER  AND  THE  BLACK  BASS 

A  little  later  Jimmy  shouted  from  the  back  door 
to  the  barn:  "  Dannie,  do  you  hear  the  larks?  " 

"  Ye  bet  I  do,"  answered  Dannie.  "  Heard  ane 
goin'  over  in  the  nicht.  How  long  is  it  now  till  the 
Kingfisher  comes  ?  " 

"  Just  a  little  while,"  said  Jimmy.  "  If  only  these 
March  storms  would  let  up  'stid  of  down !  He  can't 
come  until  he  can  fish,  you  know.  He's  got  to  have 
crabs  and  minnies  to  live  on." 

A  few  days  later  the  green  hylas  began  to  pipe  in 
the  swamps,  the  bullfrogs  drummed  among  the  pools 
in  the  bottom,  the  doves  cooed  in  the  thickets,  and  the 
breath  of  spring  was  in  the  nostrils  of  all  creation, 
for  the  wind  was  heavy  with  the  pungent  odor  of 
catkin  pollen.  The  spring  flowers  were  two  inches 
high.  The  peonies  and  rhubarb  were  pushing  bright 
yellow  and  red  cones  through  the  earth.  The  old 
gander,  leading  his  flock  along  the  Wabash,  had 
hailed  passing  flocks  bound  northward  until  he  was 
hoarse;  and  the  Brahma  rooster  had  threshed  the 
yellow  dorkin  until  he  took  refuge  under  the  pig  pen, 
and  dare  not  stick  out  his  unprotected  head. 

The  doors  had  stood  open  at  supper  time,  and 
Dannie  staid  up  late,  mending  and  oiling  the  harness. 
Jimmy  sat  by  cleaning  his  gun,  for  to  his  mortification 

83 


AT   THE    FOOT   OF   THE    RAINBOW 

he  had  that  day  missed  killing  a  crow  which  stole  from 
the  ash  hopper  the  egg  with  which  Mary  tested  the 
strength  of  the  lye.  In  a  basket  behind  the  kitchen 
stove  fifteen  newly  hatched  yellow  chickens,  with 
brown  stripes  on  their  backs,  were  peeping  and  nest 
ling;  and  on  wing  the  killdeers  cried  half  the  night. 
At  two  o'clock  in  the  morning  came  a  tap  on  the 
Malone's  bedroom  window. 

"  Dannie?  "  questioned  Mary,  half  startled. 

"Tell  Jimmy!"  cried  Dannie's  breathless  voice 
outside.  "  Tell  him  the  Kingfisher  has  juist  struck 
the  river !  " 

Jimmy  sat  straight  up  in  bed. 

"Then  glory  be!"  he  cried.  "To-morrow  the 
Black  Bass  comes  home !  " 


WHEN   THE    RAINBOW   SET   ITS   ARCH 
IN   THE   SKY 


CHAPTER   V 

WHEN   THE    RAINBOW    SET    ITS    ARCH    IN    THE    SKY 

HERE  did  Jimmy  go?"  asked 

Mary. 

Jimmy  had  been  up  in  time  to 

feed  the  chickens  and  carry  in  the 

milk,  but  he  disappeared  shortly 

after  breakfast. 
Dannie  almost  blushed  as  he  answered :  "  He  went 
to  take  a  peep  at  the  river.     It's  going  down  fast. 
When  it  gets  into  its  regular  channel,  spawning  will 
be  over  and  the  fish  will  come  back  to  their  old  places* 
We  figure  that  the  Black  Bass  will  be  home  to-day." 
14  When  you  go  digging  for  bait,"  said  Mary,  "  I 
wonder  if  the  two  of  you  could  make  it  convanient  to 
spade  an  onion  bed.    If  I  had  it  spaded  I  could  stick 
the  sets  mesilf." 

8? 


AT   THE    FOOT   OF   THE    RAINBOW 

"  Now,  that  amna  fair,  Mary,"  said  Dannie.  "  We 
never  went  fishing  till  the  garden  was  made,  and  the 
crops  at  least  wouldna  suffer.  We'll  make  the  beds, 
of  course,  juist  as  soon  as  they  can  be  spaded,  and 
plant  the  seed,  too." 
.  "  I  want  to  plant  the  seeds  mesilf,"  said  Mary. 

"  And  we  dinna  want  ye  should,"  replied  Dannie. 
41  All  we  want  ye  to  do,  is  to  boss." 

"  But  I'm  going  to  do  the  planting  mesilf,"  Mary 
was  emphatic.  "  It  will  be  good  for  me  to  be  in  the 
sunshine,  and  I  do  enjoy  working  in  the  dirt,  so  that 
for  a  little  while  I'm  happy." 

"  If  ye  want  to  put  the  onions  in  the  highest  place, 
I  should  think  I  could  spade  ane  bed  now,  and  enough 
fra  lettuce  and  radishes." 

Dannie  went  after  a  spade,  and  Mary  Malone 
laughed  softly  as  she  saw  that  he  also  carried  an  old 
tin  can.  He  tested  the  earth  in  several  places,  and 
then  called  to  her:  "All  right,  Mary!  Ground  in 
prime  shape.  Turns  up  dry  and  mellow.  We  will 
have  the  garden  started  in  no  time." 

He  had  spaded  but  a  minute  when  Mary  saw  him 
run  past  the  window,  leap  the  fence,  and  go  hurrying 
down  the  path  to  the  river.  She  went  to  the  door.  At 
the  head  of  the  lane  stood  Jimmy,  waving  his  hat,  and 

88 


WHEN  THE  RAINBOW  SET  ITS  ARCH 

the  fresh  morning  air  carried  his  cry  clearly:  "  Gee, 
'Dannie !  Come  hear  him  splash !  " 

Just  why  that  cry,  and  the  sight  of  Dannie  Mac- 
noun  racing  toward  the  river,  his  spade  lying  on  the 
upturned  earth  of  her  scarcely  begun  onion  bed, 
should  have  made  her  angry,  it  would  be  hard  to 
explain.  He  had  no  tackle  or  bait,  and  reason  easily 
could  have  told  her  that  he  would  return  shortly, 
and  finish  anything  she  wanted  done;  but  when 
was  a  lonely,  disappointed  woman  ever  reasonable  ? 

She  set  the  dish  water  on  the  stove,  wiped  her 
hands  on  her  apron,  and  walking  to  the  garden,  picked 
up  the  spade  and  began  turning  great  pieces  of  earth. 
She  had  never  done  rough  farm  work,  such  as  women 
all  about  her  did;  she  had  little  exercise  during  the 
long,  cold  winter,  and  the  first  half  dozen  spadefuls 
tired  her  until  the  tears  of  self-pity  rolled. 

"  I  wish  there  was  a  turtle  as  big  as  a  wash  tub  in 
the  river,"  she  sobbed,  "  and  I  wish  it  would  eat  that 
old  Black  Bass  to  the  last  scale.  And  I'm  going  to 
take  the  shotgun,  and  go  over  to  the  embankment,  and 
poke  it  into  the  tunnel,  and  blow  the  old  Kingfisher 
through  into  the  cornfield.  Then  maybe  Dannie 
won't  go  off  too  and  leave  me.  I  want  this  onion 
bed  spaded  right  away,  so  I  do." 


AT   THE    FOOT   OF   THE    RAINBOW 

"  Drop  that!  Idjit!  What  you  doing?  "  yelled 
Jimmy. 

14  Mary,  ye  goose!"  panted  Dannie,  as  he  came 
hurrying  across  the  yard.  "  Wha'  do  ye  mean?  Ye 
knew  I'd  be  back  in  a  minute !  Jimmy  juist  called  me 
to  hear  the  Bass  splash.  I  was  comin'  back.  Mary, 
this  amna  fair." 

Dannie  took  the  spade  from  her  hand,  and  Mary 
fled  sobbing  to  the  house. 

"  What's  the  row?  "  demanded  Jimmy  of  the  suf 
fering  Dannie. 

"  I'd  juist  started  spadin'  this  onion  bed,"  ex 
plained  Dannie.  "  Of  course,  she  thought  we  were 
going  to  stay  all  day." 

;<  With  no  poles,  and  no  bait,  and  no  grub?  She 
didn't  think  any  such  a  domn  thing,"  said  Jimmy. 
'  You  don't  know  women !  She  just  got  to  the  place 
where  it's  her  time  to  spill  brine,  and  raise  a  rumpus 
about  something,  and  aisy  brathin'  would  start  her. 
Just  let  her  bawl  it  out,  and  thin — we'll  get  something 
dacent  for  dinner." 

Dannie  turned  a  spadeful  of  earth  and  broke  it 
open,  and  Jimmy  squatted  by  the  can,  and. began 
picking  out  the  angle  worms. 

"  I  see  where  we  dinna  fish  much  this  summer," 

90 


WHEN  THE  RAINBOW  SET  ITS  ARCH 

said  Dannie,  as  he  waited.  "  And  where  we  fish  close 
home  when  we  do,  and  where  all  the  work  is  done 
before  we  go." 

"  Aha,  borrow  me  rose-colored  specks  1 "  cried 
Jimmy.  "  I  don't  see  anything  but  what  I've  always 
seen.  I'll  come  and  go  as  I  please,  and  Mary  can  do 
the  same.  I  don't  throw  no  '  jeminy  fit '  every  time 
a  woman  acts  the  fool  a  little,  and  if  you'd  lived  with 
one  fiftane  years  you  wouldn't  either.  Of  course  we'll 
make  the  garden.  Wish  to  goodness  it  was  a  beer 
garden!  Wouldn't  I  like  to  plant  a  lot  of  hop  seed 
and  see  rows  of  little  green  beer  bottles  hump  in'  up  the 
dirt.  Oh,  my!  What  all  does  she  want  done?  " 

Dannie  turned  another  spadeful  of  earth  and  stud 
ied  the  premises,  while  Jimmy  gathered  the  worms. 

"  Palins  all  on  the  fence?  "  asked  Dannie. 

"  Yep,"  said  Jimmy. 

"  Well,  the  yard  is  to  be  raked." 

"  Yep." 

"  The  flooer  beds  spaded." 

"  Yep." 

"  Stones  around  the  peonies,  phlox,  and  holly- 
hocks  raised  and  manure  worked  in.  All  the  trees 
must  be  pruned,  the  bushes  and  vines  trimmed,  and 
the  gooseberries,  currants,  and  raspberries  thinned. 

91 


AT   THE    FOOT   OF   THE    RAINBOW 

The  strawberry  bed  must  be  fixed  up,  and  the  rhubarb 
and  asparagus  spaded  around  and  manured.  This 
whole  garden  must  be  made " 

"  And  the  road  swept,  and  the  gate  sandpapered, 
and  the  barn  whitewashed!  Return  to  grazing, 
Nebuchadnezzar,"  said  Jimmy.  "  We  do  what's 
raisonable,  and  then  we  go  fishin'.  See?1' 

Three  beds  spaded,  squared,  and  ready  for  seeding 
lay  in  the  warm  spring  sunshine  before  noon.  Jimmy 
raked  the  yard,  and  Dannie  trimmed  the  gooseberries. 
Then  he  wheeled  a  barrel  of  swamp  loam  for  a  flower 
bed  by  the  cabin  wall,  and  listened  intently  between 
each  shovelful  he  threw.  He  could  not  hear  a  sound. 
What  was  more,  he  could  not  bear  it.  He  went  to 
Jimmy. 

"  Say,  Jimmy,"  he  said.  "  Dinna  ye  have  to  gae  in 
fra  a  drink?" 

"  House  or  town?  "  inquired  Jimmy  sweetly. 

"  The  house !  "  exploded  Dannie.  "  I  dinna  hear 
a  sound  yet  Ye  gae  in  fra  a  drink,  and  tell  Mary 
I  want  to  know  where  she'd  like  the  new  flooer  bed 
she's  been  talking  about." 

Jimmy  leaned  the  rake  against  a  tree,  and  started. 

"  And  Jimmy,"  said  Dannie.  "  If  she's  quit  cry 
ing,  ask  her  what  was  the  matter.  I  want  to  know." 

92 


WHEN  THE  RAINBOW  SET  ITS  ARCH 

Jimmy  vanished.  Presently  he  passed  Dannie 
where  he  worked. 

"  Come  on,"  whispered  Jimmy. 

The  bewildered  Dannie  followed.  Jimmy  passed 
the  wood  pile,  and  pig  pen,  and  slunk  around  behind 
the  barn,  where  he  leaned  against  the  logs  and  held 
his  sides.  Dannie  stared  at  him. 

"  She  says,"  wheezed  Jimmy,  "  that  she  guesses 
she  wanted  to  go  and  hear  the  Bass  splash,  too !  " 

Dannie's  mouth  fell  open,  and  then  closed  with  a 
snap. 

"Us  fra  the  fool  killer!"  he  said.  "Ye  dinna 
let  her  see  ye  laugh  ?  " 

"  Let  her  see  me  laugh !  "  cried  Jimmy.  "  Let  her 
see  me  laugh !  I  told  her  she  wasn't  to  go  for  a  few 
days  yet,  because  we  were  sawin'  the  Kingfisher's 
stump  up  into  a  rustic  sate  for  her,  and  we  were  goin' 
to  carry  her  out  to  it,  and  she  was  to  sit  there  and  sew, 
and  umpire  the  fishin',  and  whichiver  bait  she  told 
the  Bass  to  take,  that  one  of  us  would  be  gettin'  it. 
And  she  was  pleased  as  anything,  me  lad,  and  now 
it's  up  to  us  to  rig  up  some  sort  of  a  dacint  sate,  and 
tag  a  woman  along  half  the  time.  You  thick-tongued 
descindint  of  a  bagpipe  baboon,  what  did  you  sind 
me  in  there  for?  " 

93 


AT   THE    FOOT   OF   THE    RAINBOW 

"  Maybe  a  little  of  it  will  tire  her,"  groaned 
Dannie. 

"  It  will  if  she  undertakes  to  follow  me,"  Jimmy 
said.  "  I  know  where  horse-weeds  grow  giraffe  high." 

Then  they  went  back  to  work,  and  presently  many 
savory  odors  began  to  steal  from  the  cabin.  Whereat 
Jimmy  looked  at  Dannie,  and  winked  an  *  I-told-you- 
so  '  wink.  A  garden  grows  fast  under  the  hands  of 
two  strong  men  really  working,  and  by  the  time  the 
first  slice  of  sugar-cured  ham  from  the  smoke  house 
for  that  season  struck  the  sizzling  skillet,  and  Mary 
very  meekly  called  from  the  back  door  to  know  if 
one  of  them  wanted  to  dig  a  little  horse  radish,  the 
garden  was  almost  ready  for  planting. 

Then  they  went  into  the  cabin  and  ate  fragrant, 
thick  slices  of  juicy  fried  ham,  seasoned  with  horse 
radish;  fried  eggs,  freckled  with  the  ham  fat  in 
which  they  were  cooked;  fluffy  mashed  potatoes, 
with  a  little  well  of  melted  butter  in  the  center  of  the 
mound  overflowing  the  sides ;  raisin  pie,  soda  biscuit, 
and  their  own  maple  syrup. 

"  Ohumahoh !  "  said  Jimmy.  "  I  don't  know  as  I 
hanker  for  city  life  so  much  as  I  sometimes  think  I  do. 
What  do  you  suppose  the  adulterated  stuff  we  read 
about  in  papers  tastes  like?  " 

94 


WHEN  THE  RAINBOW  SET  ITS  ARCH 

"  IVe  often  wondered,"  answered  Dannie.  "  Look 
at  some  of  the  hogs  and  cattle  that  we  see  shipped 
from  here  to  city  markets.  The  folks  that  sell  them 
would  starve  before  they'd  eat  a  bit  o'  them,  yet 
somebody  eats  them,  and  what  do  ye  suppose  maple 
syrup  made  from  hickory  bark  and  brown  sugar  tastes 
like?" 

"And  cold-storage  eggs,  and  cotton-seed  butter, 
and  even  horse  radish  half  turnip,"  added  Mary. 
"  Bate  up  the  cream  a  little  before  you  put  it  in  your 
coffee,  or  it  will  be  in  lumps.  Whin  the  cattle  are  on 
clover  it  raises  so  thick." 

Jimmy  speared  a  piece  of  salt-rising  bread  crust 
soaked  in  ham  gravy  made  with  cream,  and  said: 
"  I  wish  I  could  bring  that  Thrid  Man  home  with 
me  to  one  meal  of  the  real  thing  nixt  time  he  strikes 
town.  I  belave  he  would  injoy  it.  May  I,  Mary?  " 

Mary's  face  flushed  slightly.  "  Depends  on  whin 
he  comes,"  she  said.  "  Of  course,  if  I  am  cleaning 
house,  or  busy  with  something  I  can't  put  off " 

"  Sure !  "  cried  Jimmy.  "  I'd  ask  you  before  I 
brought  him,  because  I'd  want  him  to  have  something 
spicial.  Some  of  this  ham,  and  horse  radish,  and 
maple  syrup  to  begin  with,  and  thin  your  fried  spring 
chicken  and  your  stewed  squirrel  is  a  drame,  Maryc 

95 


AT   THE    FOOT   OF   THE    RAINBOW 

Nobody  iver  makes  turtle  soup  half  so  rich  as  yours, 
and  your  green  peas  in  cream,  and  asparagus  on  toast 
is  a  rivilation — don't  you  rimimber  'twas  Father 
Michael  that  said  it  ?  I  ought  to  be  able  to  find  mush 
rooms  in  a  few  weeks,  and  I  can  taste  your  rhubarb 
pie  over  from  last  year.  Gee !  But  I  wish  he'd  come 
in  strawberrying !  Berries  from  the  vines,  butter  in 
the  crust,  crame  you  have  to  bate  to  make  it  smooth — 
talk  about  shortcake !  " 

"What's  wrong  wi'  cherry  cobbler?"  asked 
Dannie. 

"Or  blackberry  pie?" 

"  Or  greens  cooked  wi'  bacon  ?  " 

"Or  chicken  pie?" 

"  Or  catfish,  rolled  in  cornmeal  and  fried  in  ham 
fat?" 

"  Or  guineas  stewed  in  cream,  with  hard-boiled 
eggs  in  the  gravy?  " 

"Oh,  stop!"  cried  the  delighted  Mary.  "It 
makes  me  dead  tired  thinkin'  how  I'll  iver  be  cookin' 
all  you'll  want.  Sure,  have  him  come,  and  both  of 
you  can  pick  out  the  things  you  like  the  best,  and  I'll 
fix  thim  for  him.  Pure,  fresh  stuff  might  be  a  trate 
to  a  city  man.  When  Dolan  took  sister  Katie  to  New 
York  with  him,  his  boss  sent  them  to  a  five-dollar-a- 

96 


WHEN  THE  RAINBOW  SET  ITS  ARCH 

day  house,  and  they  thought  they  was  some  up.  By 
the  third  day  poor  Katie  was  cryin'  for  a  square  male. 
She  couldn't  touch  the  butter,  the  eggs  made  her  sick, 
and  the  cold-storage  meat  and  chicken  never  got 
nearer  her  stomach  than  her  nose.  So  she  just  ate 
fish,  because  they  were  fresh,  and  she  ate,  and  she  ate, 
till  if  you  mintion  New  York  to  poor  Katie  she  turns 
pale,  and  tastes  fish.  She  vows  and  declares  that  she 
feeds  her  chickens  and  hogs  better  food  twice  a  day 
than  people  fed  her  in  New  York." 

"  I'll  bet  my  new  milk  pail  the  grub  we  eat  ivery 
day  would  be  a  trate  that  would  raise  him,"  said 
Jimmy.  "  Provided  his  taste  ain't  so  depraved  with 
saltpeter  and  chalk  he  don't  know  fresh,  pure  food 
whin  he  tastes  it.  I  understand  some  of  the  victims 
really  don't." 

"  Your  new  milk  pail?  "  questioned  Mary. 

"  That's  what!  "  said  Jimmy.  "  The  next  time  I 
go  to  town  I'm  goin'  to  get  you  two." 

"  But  I  only  need  one,"  protested  Mary.  "  Instead 
of  two,  get  me  a  new  dishpan.  Mine  leaks,  and 
smears  the  stove  and  table." 

"  Be  Gorry !  "  sighed  Jimmy.  "  There  goes  me 
tongue,  lettin'  me  in  for  it  again.  I'll  look  over  the 
skins,  and  if  any  of  thim  are  ripe,  I'll  get  you  a  milk 

97 


AT   THE    FOOT   OF   THE    RAINBOW 

pail  and  a  dishpan  the  nixt  time  I  go  to  town.  And, 
by  gee!  If  that  dandy  big  coon  hide  I  got  last  fall 
looks  good,  I'm  going  to  comb  it  up,  and  work  the 
skin  fine,  and  send  it  to  the  Thrid  Man,  with  me 
complimints.  I  don't  feel  right  about  him  yet.  Won 
der  what  his  name  railly  is,  and  where  he  lives,  or 
whether  I  killed  him  complate." 

"  Any  dry  goods  man  in  town  can  tell  ye,"  said 
Dannie. 

"  Ask  the  clerk  in  the  hotel,"  suggested  Mary. 

"You've    said   it,"    cried   Jimmy.     "That's   the 
stuff  1    And  I  can  find  out  whin  he  will  be  here  again." 

Two  hours  more  they   faithfully  worked  on  the 
garden,  and  then  Jimmy  began  to. grow  restless. 

"  Ah,  go  on !  "  cried  Mary.    "  You  have  done  all 
that  is  needed  just  now,  and  more  too.    There  won't 
any  fish  bite  to-day,  but  you  can  have  the  pleasure  of 
stringin'  thim  poor  sufferin'  worms  on  a  hook  and  | 
soaking  thim  in  the  river." 

*  Sufferin'  worms !  '  Sufferin'  Job !  "  cried  Jimmy. 
"  What  nixt  ?    Go  on,  Dannie,  get  your  pole !  " 

Dannie  went.    As  he  came  back  Jimmy  was  sprink 
ling  a  thin  layer  of  earth  over  the  bait  in  the  can. 
*  Why  not  come  along,  Mary?  "  he  suggested. 

"  I'm  not  done  planting  my  seeds,"  she  answered. 


WHEN  THE  RAINBOW  SET  ITS  ARCH 

"  I'll  be  tired  when  I  am,  and  I  thought  that  place 
wasn't  fixed  for  me  yet." 

"  We  can't  fix  that  till  a  little  later,"  said  Jimmy. 
"  We  can't  tell  where  it's  going  to  be  grassy  and 
shady  yet,  and  the  wood  is  too  wet  to  fix  a  sate." 

"  Any  kind  of  a  sate  will  do,"  said  Mary.  "  I 
guess  you  better  not  try  to  make  one  out  of  the  King 
fisher  stump.  If  you  take  it  out  it  may  change  the 
pool  and  drive  away  the  Bass." 

"  Sure !  "  cried  Jimmy.  "  What  a  head  youVe 
got!  We'll  have  to  find  some  other  stump  for  a 
sate." 

"  I  don't  want  to  go  until  it  gets  dry  under  foot, 
and  warmer,"  said  Mary.  "  You  boys  go  on.  I'll 
till  you  whin  I  am  riddy  to  go." 

"  There !  "  said  Jimmy,  when  well  on  the  way  to 
the  river.  "  What  did  I  tell  you?  Won't  go  if  she 
has  the  chance !  Jist  wants  to  be  asked!9 

"  I  dinna  pretend  to  know  women,"  said  Dannie 
gravely.  "  But  whatever  Mary  does  is  all  richt  with 


me." 


"  So  IVe  obsarved,"  remarked  Jimmy.  "  Now, 
how  will  we  get  at  this  fishin'  to  be  parfectly  fair?  " 

"  Tell  ye  what  I  think,"  said  Dannie.  "  I  think 
we  ought  to  pick  out  the  twa  best  places  about  the 

99 


AT   THE    FOOT    OF   THE    RAINBOW 

Black  Bass  pool,  and  ye  take  ane  fra  yours  and  I'll 
take  the  ither  fra  mine,  and  then  we'll  each  fish  from 
his  own  place.'* 

"  Nothing  fair  about  that,"  answered  Jimmy. 
"  You  might  just  happen  to  strike  the  bed  where  he 
lays  most,  and  be  gettin*  bites  all  the  time,  and  me 
none;  or  I  might  strike  it  and  you  be  left  out.  And 
thin  there's  days  whin  the  wind  has  to  do,  and  the 
light.  We  ought  to  change  places  ivery  hour." 

"  There's  nothing  fair  in  that  either,"  broke  in 
Dannie.  "  I  might  have  him  tolled  up  to  my  place, 
and  juist  be  feedin'  him  my  bait,  and  here  you'd  come 
along  and  prove  by  your  watch  that  my  time  was  up, 
and  take  him  when  I  had  him  all  ready  to  bite." 

"  That's  so  for  you !  "  hurried  in  Jimmy.  "  I'll 
be  hanged  if  I'd  leave  a  place  by  the  watch  whin  I 
had  a  strike !  " 

"  Me  either,"  said  Dannie.  "  Tis  past  human 
nature  to  ask  it.  I'll  tell  ye  what  we'll  do.  We'll  go 
to  work  and  rig  up  a  sort  of  a  bridge  where  it's  so 
narrow  and  shallow,  juist  above  Kingfisher  shoals, 
and  then  we'll  toss  up  fra  sides.  Then  each  will 
keep  to  his  side.  With  a  decent  pole  either  of  us  can 
throw  across  the  pool,  and  both  of  us  can  fish  as 
we  please.  Then  each  fellow  can  pick  his  bait,  and 

100 


WHEN  THE  RAINBOW  SET  ITS  ARCH 

cast  or  fish  deep  as  he  thinks  best.    What  d'ye  say  to 

that?"  ;  ;;\;fv    • :'^ 

"I  don't  see  how  anything  ,cqulji  be,  ^ajrer^iWn 
that,"  said  Jimmy.  "I  donWanti'  to  'fish*  for'  any 
thing  but  the  Bass.  I'm  goin'  back  and  get  our  rub 
ber  boots,  and  you  be  rollin'  logs,  and  we'll  build 
that  crossing  right  now." 

"  All  richt,"  said  Dannie. 

So  they  laid  aside  their  poles  and  tackle,  and  Dan 
nie  rolled  logs  and  gathered  material  for  the  bridge, 
while  Jimmy  went  back  after  their  boots.  Then  both 
of  them  entered  the  water  and  began  clearing  away 
drift  and  laying  the  foundations.  As  the  first  log  of 
the  crossing  lifted  above  the  water  Dannie  paused. 

"  How  about  the  Kingfisher?  "  he  asked.  "  Winna 
this  scare  him  away?  " 

"  Not  if  he  ain't  a  domn  fool,"  said  Jimmy;  u  and 
if  he  is,  let  him  go !  " 

"  Seems  like  the  river  would  no  be  juist  richt  with 
out  him,"  said  Dannie,  breaking  off  a  spice  limb  and 
nibbling  the  fragrant  buds.  "  Let's  only  use  what 
we  bare  need  to  get  across.  And  where  will  we  fix 
fra  Mary?" 

"  Oh,  git  out  I  "  said  Jimmy.  "  I  ain't  goin'  to 
fool  with  that." 

101 


AT   THE    FOOT   OF   THE    RAINBOW 

"  Well,  we  best  fix  a  place.  Then  we  can  tell  her 
wcfiked  it^ ami  it's  ^11  ready." 

„  5 ;"  S.ureJ  "  cried  Jirnmy.  *  You  are  catchin'  it  from 
yotir  neighbor,  i  T.iiL  her  a  place  is  all  fixed  and 
watin',  and  you  couldn't  drag  her  here  with  a  team 
of  oxen.  Till  her  you  are  going  to  fix  it  soon,  and 
she'll  come  to  see  if  you've  done  it,  if  she  has  to  be 
carried  on  a  stritcher." 

So  they  selected  a  spot  that  they  thought  would  be 
all  right  for  Mary,  and  not  close  enough  to  disturb 
the  Bass  and  the  Kingfisher,  rolled  two  logs,  and 
fished  a  board  that  had  been  carried  by  a  freshet  from 
the  water  and  laid  it  across  them,  and  decided  that 
would  have  to  serve  until  they  could  do  better. 

Then  they  sat  astride  the  board,  Dannie  drew  out  a 
coin,  and  they  tossed  it  to  see  which  was  heads  and 
tails.  Dannie  won  heads.  Then  they  tossed  to  see 
which  bank  was  heads  or  tails,  and  the  right,  which 
was  on  Rainbow  side,  came  heads.  So  Jimmy  was 
to  use  the  bridge.  Then  they  went  home,  and  began 
the  night  work.  The  first  thing  Jimmy  espied  was  the 
barrel  containing  the  milk  pail.  He  fished  out  the 
pail,  and  while  Dannie  fed  the  stock,  shoveled  ma 
nure,  and  milked,  Jimmy  pounded  out  the  dents, 
closed  the  bullet  holes,  emptied  the  bait  into  it,  half 

102 


WHEN  THE  RAINBOW  SEl    ITS  ARCH 

filled  it  with  mellow  earth,  and  went  to  Mary  for 
some  corn  meal  to  sprinkle  on  the  top  to  feed  the 
worms. 

At  four  o'clock  the  next  morning,  Dannie  was  up 
feeding,  milking,  scraping  plows,  and  setting  bolts. 
After  breakfast  they  piled  their  implements  on  a  mud- 
boat,  which  Dannie  drove,  while  Jimmy  rode  one  of 
his  team,  and  led  the  other,  and  opened  the  gates. 
They  began  on  Dannie's  field,  because  it  was  closest, 
and  for  the  next  two  weeks,  unless  it  were  too 
rainy  to  work,  they  plowed,  harrowed,  lined  off,  and 
planted  the  seed. 

The  blackbirds  followed  along  the  furrows  pick 
ing  up  grubs,  the  crows  cawed  from  high  tree  tops, 
the  bluebirds  twittered  about  hollow  stumps  and 
fence  rails,  the  wood  thrushes  sang  out  their  souls  in 
the  thickets  across  the  river,  and  the  King  Cardinal  of 
Rainbow  Bottom  whistled  to  split  his  throat  from  the 
giant  sycamore.  Tender  greens  were  showing  along 
the  river  and  in  the  fields,  and  the  purple  of  red-bud 
mingled  with  the  white  of  wild  plum  all  along  the 
Wabash. 

The  sunny  side  of  the  hill  that  sloped  down  to 
Rainbow  Bottom  was  a  mass  of  spring  beauties, 
anemones,  and  violets;  thread-like  ramps  rose  rank 

103 


AT   THE    FOOT   OF   THE    RAINBOW 

to  the  scent  among  them,  and  round  ginger  leaves 
were  thrusting  their  folded  heads  through  the  mold. 
The  Kingfisher  was  cleaning  his  house  and  fishing 
from  his  favorite  stump  in  the  river,  while  near  him, 
at  the  fall  of  every  luckless  worm  that  missed  its  hold 
on  a  blossom-whitened  thorn  tree,  came  the  splash  of 
the  great  Black  Bass.  Every  morning  the  Bass  took 
a  trip  around  Horseshoe  Bend  food  hunting,  and  the 
small  fry  raced  for  life  before  his  big,  shear-like 
jaws.  During  the  heat  of  noon  he  lay  in  the  deep  pool 
below  the  stump,  and  rested ;  but  when  evening  came 
he  set  out  in  search  of  supper,  and  frequently  he  felt 
so  good  that  he  leaped  clear  of  the  water,  and  fell 
back  with  a  splash  that  threw  shining  spray  about 
him,  or  lashed  out  with  his  tail  and  sent  widening 
circles  of  waves  rolling  from  his  lurking  place.  Then 
the  Kingfisher  rattled  with  all  his  might,  and  flew  for 
the  tunnel  in  the  embankment. 

Some  of  these  days  the  air  was  still,  the  earth 
warmed  in  the  golden  sunshine,  and  murmured  a  low 
song  of  sleepy  content.  Some  days  the  wind  raised, 
whirling  dead  leaves  before  it,  and  covering  the  earth 
with  drifts  of  plum,  cherry,  and  apple  bloom,  like 
late  falling  snow.  Then  great  black  clouds  came 
•weeping  across  the  sky,  and  massed  above  Rainbow 

104 


WHEN  THE  RAINBOW  SET  ITS  ARCH 

Bottom.  The  lightning  flashed  as  if  the  heavens 
were  being  cracked  open,  and  the  rolling  thunder  sent 
terror  to  the  hearts  of  man  and  beast.  When  the 
birds  flew  for  shelter,  Dannie  and  Jimmy  unhitched 
their  horses,  and  raced  for  the  stables  to  escape  the 
storm,  and  to  be  with  Mary,  whom  electricity  made 
nervous. 

They  would  sit  on  the  little  front  porch,  and  watch 
the  greedy  earth  drink  the  downpour.  They  could 
almost  see  the  grass  and  flowers  grow.  When  the 
clouds  scattered,  the  thunder  grew  fainter;  and  the 
sun  shone  again  between  light  sprinkles  of  rain. 
Then  a  great,  glittering  rainbow  set  its  arch  in  the 
sky,  and  it  planted  one  of  its  feet  in  Horseshoe  Bend, 
and  the  other  so  far  away  they  could  not  even  guess 
where, 

If  it  rained  lightly,  in  a  little  while  Dannie  and 
Jimmy  could  go  back  to  their  work  afield.  If  the 
downpour  was  heavy,  and  made  plowing  impossible, 
they  pulled  weeds,  and  hoed  in  the  garden.  Dannie 
discoursed  on  the  wholesome  freshness  of  the  earth, 
and  Jimmy  ever  waited  a  chance  to  twist  his  words, 
and  ring  in  a  laugh  on  him.  He  usually  found  it. 
Sometimes,  after  a  rain,  they  took  their  bait  cans, 
and  rods,  and  went  down  to  the  river  to  fish. 

105 


AT   THE    FOOT   OF   THE    RAINBOW 

If  one  could  not  go,  the  other  religiously  refrained 
from  casting  bait  into  the  pool  where  the  Black  Bass 
lay.  Once,  when  they  were  fishing  together,  the  Bass 
rose  to  a  white  moth,  skittered  over  the  surface  by 
Dannie  late  in  the  evening,  and  twice  Jimmy  had 
strikes  which  he  averred  had  taken  the  arm  almost  off 
him,  but  neither  really  had  the  Bass  on  his  hook. 
They  kept  to  their  own  land,  and  fished  when  they 
pleased,  for  game  laws  and  wardens  were  unknown  to 
them. 

Truth  to  tell,  neither  of  them  really  hoped  to  get 
the  Bass  before  fall.  The  water  was  too  high  in  the 
spring.  Minnows  were  plentiful,  and  as  Jimmy  said, 
"  It  seemed  as  if  the  domn  plum  tree  just  rained  cater 
pillars.'  '  So  they  bided  their  time,  and  the  signs  pro 
hibiting  trespass  on  all  sides  of  their  land  were  many 
and  emphatic,  and  Mary  had  instructions  to  ring  the 
dinner  bell  if  she  caught  sight  of  any  strangers. 

The  days  grew  longer,  and  the  sun  was  insistent. 
Untold  miles  they  trudged  back  and  forth  across  their 
land,  guiding  their  horses,  jerked  about  with  plows, 
their  feet  weighted  with  the  damp,  clinging  earth, 
and  their  clothing  pasted  to  their  wet  bodies.  Jimmy 
was  growing  restless.  Never  in  all  his  life  had  he 
worked  so  faithfully  as  that  spring,  and  never  had 

1 06 


WHEN  THE  RAINBOW  SET  ITS  ARCH 

his  visits  to  Casey's  so  told  on  him.  No  matter 
where  they  started,  or  how  hard  they  worked,  Dan 
nie  was  across  the  middle  of  the  field,  and  helping 
Jimmy  before  the  finish.  It  was  always  Dannie  who 
plowed  on,  while  Jimmy  rode  to  town  for  the  missing 
bolt  or  buckle,  and  he  generally  rolled  from  his  horse 
into  a  fence  corner,  and  slept  the  remainder  of  the 
day  on  his  return. 

The  work  and  heat  were  beginning  to  tire  him, 
and  his  trips  to  Casey's  had  been  much  less  frequent 
than  he  desired.  He  grew  to  feel  that  between  them 
Dannie  and  Mary  were  driving  him,  and  a  desire  to 
balk  at  slight  cause,  gathered  in  his  breast.  He  delib 
erately  tied  his  team  in  a  fence  corner,  lay  down,  and 
fell  asleep.  The  clanging  of  the  supper  bell  aroused 
him.  He  opened  his  eyes,  and  as  he  rose,  found  that 
Dannie  had  been  to  the  barn,  and  brought  a  horse 
blanket  to  cover  him.  Well  as  he  knew  anything, 
Jimmy  knew  that  he  had  no  business  sleeping  in  fence 
corners  so  early  in  the  season.  With  candor  he 
would  have  admitted  to  himself  that  a  part  of  his 
brittle  temper  came  from  aching  bones  and  rheumatic 
twinges.  Some  way,  the  sight  of  Dannie  swinging 
across  the  field,  looking  as  fresh  as  in  the  early  morn 
ing,  and  the  fact  that  he  had  carried  a  blanket  to 

107 


AT   THE    FOOT   OF   THE    RAINBOW 

cover  him,  and  the  further  fact  that  he  was  wild  for 
drink,  and  could  think  of  no  excuse  on  earth  for  going 
to  town,  brought  him  to  a  fighting  crisis. 

Dannie  turned  his  horses  at  Jimmy's  feet. 

"  Come  on,  Jimmy,  supper  bell  has  rung,"  he  cried. 
'  We  mustn't  keep  Mary  waiting.  She  wants  us  to 
help  her  plant  the  sweet  potatoes  to-nicht." 

Jimmy  rose,  and  his  joints  almost  creaked.  The 
pain  angered  him.  He  leaned  forward  and  glared 
at  Dannie. 

"  Is  there  one  minute  of  the  day  whin  you  ain't 
thinkin'  about  my  wife?  "  he  demanded,  oh,  so  slowly, 
and  so  ugly! 

Dannie  met  his  hateful  gaze  squarely.  "  Na  a 
minute,"  he  answered,  "  excepting  when  I  am  think 
ing  about  ye." 

"The  tlell  you  say!"  exploded  the  astonished 
Jimmy. 

Dannie  stepped  out  of  the  furrow,  and  came  closer. 
"  See  here,  Jimmy  Malone,"  he  said.  *  Ye  ain't  for 
got  the  nicht  when  I  told  ye  I  loved  Mary,  with  all 
my  heart,  and  that  I'd  never  love  another  woman. 
I  sent  ye  to  tell  her  fra  me,  and  to  ask  if  I  might 
come  to  her.  And  ye  brought  me  her  answer.  It's 
na  your  fault  that  she  preferred  ye.  Everybody  did. 

108 


WHEN  THE  RAINBOW  SET  ITS  ARCH 

But  it  is  your  fault  that  I've  stayed  on  here.  I  tried 
to  go,  and  ye  wouldna  let  me.  So  for  fifteen  years, 
ye  have  lain  with  the  woman  I  love,  and  I  have  lain 
alone  in  a  few  rods  of  ye.  If  that  ain't  Man-Hell,  try 
some  other  on  me,  and  see  if  it  will  touch  me!  I 
sent  ye  to  tell  her  that  I  loved  her;  have  I  ever  sent 
ye  to  tell  her  that  I've  quit?  I  should  think  you'd 
know,  by  this  time,  that  I'm  na  quitter.  Love  her  I 
Why,  I  love  her  till  I  can  see  her  standin'  plain 
before  me,  when  I  know  she's  a  mile  away.  Love 
her !  Why,  I  can  smell  her  any  place  I  am,  sweeter 
than  any  flower  I  ever  held  to  my  face.  Love  her! 
Till  the  day  I  dee  I'll  love  her.  But  it  ain't  any 
fault  of  yours,  and  if  ye've  come  to  the  place  where 
I  worry  ye,  that's  the  place  where  I  go,  as  I  wanted 
to  on  the  same  day  ye  brought  Mary  to  Rainbow 
Bottom." 

Jimmy's  gray  jaws  fell  open.  Jimmy's  sullen  eyes 
cleared.  He  caught  Dannie  by  the  arm. 

"  For  the  love  of  Hivin,  what  did  I  say,  Dannie?  '* 
he  panted.  "  I  must  have  been  half  asleep.  Go ! 
You  go!  You  leave  Rainbow  Bottom!  Thin,  by 
God,  I  go  too !  I  won't  stay  here  without  you,  not  a 
day.  If  I  had  to  take  my  choice  between  you,  I'd 
give  up  Mary  before  I'd  give  up  the  best  frind 

109 


AT   THE    FOOT   OF   THE    RAINBOW 

I  iver  had.  Go !  I  guess  not,  unless  I  go  with  you ! 
She  can  go  to " 

"  Jimmy!     Jimmy!  "  cautioned  Dannie. 

"  I  mane  ivery  domn  word  of  it,"  said  Jimmy.  "  I 
think  more  of  you,  than  I  iver  did  of  any  woman." 

Dannie  drew  a  deep  breath.  "  Then  why  in  the 
name  of  God  did  ye  say  that  thing  to  me  ?  I  have  na 
betrayed  your  trust  in  me,  not  ever,  Jimmy,  and  ye 
know  it.  What's  the  matter  with  ye  ?" 

Jimmy  heaved  a  deep  sigh,  and  rubbed  his  hands 
across  his  hot,  angry  face.  "  Oh,  I'm  just  so  domn 
sore !  "  he  said.  "  Some  days  I  get  about  wild. 
Things  haven't  come  out  like  I  thought  they  would." 

"  Jimmy,  if  ye  are  in  trouble,  why  do  ye  na  tell  me? 
Canna  I  help  ye?  Have'nt  I  always  helped  ye  if  I 
could?" 

*  Yes,  you  have,"  said  Jimmy.     "  Always,  been  a 
thousand  times  too  good  to  me.     But  you  can't  help 
here.     I'm  up  agin  it  alone,  but  put  this  in  your  pipe, 
and  smoke  it  good  and  brown,  if  you  go,  I  go.     I 
don't  stay  here  without  you." 

*  Then  it's  up  to  ye  na  to  make  it  impossible  for 
me  to  stay,"  said  Dannie.     "  After  this,  I'll  try  to 
be  carefu'.     I've  had  no  guard  on  my  lips.     I've 
said  whatever  came  into  my  heid." 

no 


WHEN  THE  RAINBOW  SET  ITS  ARCH 

The  supper  bell  clanged  sharply  a  second  time. 

"  That  manes  more  Hivin  on  the  Wabash,"  said 
Jimmy.  "  Wish  I  had  a  bracer  before  I  face  it." 

"  How  long  has  it  been,  Jimmy?  "  asked  Dannie. 

"  Etarnity !  "  replied  Jimmy  briefly. 

Dannie  stood  thinking,  and  then  light  broke. 
Jimmy  was  always  short  of  money  in  summer. 
When  trapping  was  over,  and  before  any  crops  were 
ready,  he  was  usually  out  of  funds.  Dannie  hesi 
tated,  and  then  he  said,  "  Would  a  small  loan  be  what 
ye  need,  Jimmy?  " 

Jimmy's  eyes  gleamed.  "  It  would  put  new  life 
into  me,"  he  cried.  "  Forgive  me,  Dannie.  I  am 
almost  crazy." 

Dannie  handed  over  a  coin,  and  after  supper 
Jimmy  went  to  town.  Then  Dannie  saw  his  mistake. 
He  had  purchased  peace  for  himself,  but  what  about 
Mary? 


Ill 


THE   HEART   OF  MARY   MALONE 


CHAPTER   VI 

THE   HEAB~   iff  MARY   MALONE 

"  This  is  file  job  that  was  done  with  a  reaper, 

If  we  hustle  we  can  do  it  ourselves, 
Thus  securing  to  us  a  little  cheaper, 

The  bread  and  pie  upon  our  pantry  shelves. 

Eat  this  wheat,  by  and  by, 
On  this  beautiful  Wabash  shore, 

Drink  this  rye,  by  and  by, 
Eat  and  drink  on  this  beautiful  shore." 

O  sang  Jimmy  as  he  drove  through 
the  wheat,  oats  and  rye  accom 
panied  by  the  clacking  machinery. 
Dannie  stopped  stacking  sheaves 
to  mop  his  warm,  perspiring  face 
and  to  listen.  Jimmy  always  with 
an  eye  to  the  effect  he  was  producing  immediately 
Droke  into  wilder  parody: 

"5 


AT   THE    FOOT   OF   THE    RAINBOW 

"  Drive  this  mower,  a  little  slower, 

On  this  beautiful  Wabash  shore, 
Cuttin'  wheat  to  buy  our  meat, 
Cuttin'  oats,  to  buy  our  coats, 
Also  pants,  if  we  get  the  chance. 

By  and  by,  we'll  cut  the  rye, 
But  I  bet  my  hat  I  drink  that,  I  drink  that. 

Drive  this  mower  a  little  slower, 
In  this  wheat,  in  this  wheat,  by  and  by.M 

The  larks  scolded,  fluttering  over  head,  for  at 
times  the  reaper  overtook  their  belated  broods.  The 
bobolinks  danced  and  chattered  on  stumps  and  fences, 
in  an  agony  of  suspense,  when  their  nests  were  ap 
proached,  and  cried  pitifully  if  they  were  destroyed. 
The  chewinks  flashed  from  the  ground  to  the  fences 
and  trees,  and  back,  crying  "Che-wink?"  "Che- 
wee  !  "  to  each  other,  in  such  excitement  that  they 
appeared  to  be  in  danger  of  flirting  off  their  long 
tails.  The  quail  ran  about  the  shorn  fields,  and  ex 
citedly  called  from  fence  riders  to  draw  their  flocks 
into  the  security  of  Rainbow  Bottom. 

Frightened  hares  bounded  through  the  wheat,  and 
if  the  cruel  blade  sheared  into  their  nests,  Dannie 
gathered  the  wounded  and  helpless  of  the  scattered 
broods  in  his  hat,  and  carried  them  to  Mary. 

116 


THE   HEART   OF   MARY   MALONE 

Then  came  threshing,  which  was  a  busy  time,  but 
after  that,  through  the  long  hot  days  of  late  July 
and  August,  there  was  little  to  do  afield,  and  fishing 
was  impossible.  Dannie  grubbed  fence  corners, 
mended  fences,  chopped  and  corded  wood  for  winter, 
and  in  spare  time  read  his  books.  For  the  most  part 
Jimmy  kept  close  to  Dannie.  Jimmy''  temper  never 
had  been  so  variable.  Dannie  was  greatly  troubled, 
for  despite  Jimmy's  protests  of  devotion,  he  flared  at 
a  word,  and  sometimes  at  no  word  at  all.  The  only 
thing  in  which  he  really  seemed  interested  was  the 
coon  skin  he  was  dressing  to  send  to  Boston.  Over 
that  he  worked  by  the  hour,  sometimes  with  earnest 
face,  and  sometimes  he  raised  his  head,  and  let  out 
a  whoop  that  almost  frightened  Mary.  At  such 
times  he  was  sure  to  go  on  and  give  her  some  new 
detail  of  the  hunt  for  the  fifty  coons,  that  he  had 
forgotten  to  tell  her  before. 

He  had  been  to  the  hotel,  and  learned  the  Thread 
Man's  name  and  address,  and  found  that  he  did  not 
come  regularly,  and  no  one  knew  when  to  expect  him ; 
so  when  he  had  combed  and  brushed  the  fur  to  its 
finest  point,  and  worked  the  skin  until  it  was  velvet 
soft,  and  bleached  it  until  it  was  muslin  white,  he 
made  it  into  a  neat  package  and  sent  it  with  his 

117 


AT   THE    FOOT   OF   THE    RAINBOW 

compliments  to  the  Boston  man.  After  he  had  waited 
for  a  week,  he  began  going  to  town  every  day  to  the 
post  office  for  the  letter  he  expected,  and  coming 
home  much  worse  for  a  visit  to  Casey's.  Since  plow 
ing  time  he  had  asked  Dannie  for  money  as  he 
wanted  it,  telling  him  to  keep  an  account,  and  he 
would  pay  him  in  the  fall.  He  seemed  to  forget  or 
not  to  know  how  fast  his  bills  grew. 

Then  came  a  week  in  August  when  the  heat  in 
vaded  even  the  cool  retreat  along  the  river.  Out 
on  the  highway  passing  wheels  rolled  back  the  dust 
like  water,  and  raised  it  in  clouds  after  them.  The 
rag  weeds  hung  wilted  heads  along  the  road.  The 
goldenrod  and  purple  ironwort  were  dust-colored  and 
dust-choked.  The  trees  were  thirsty,  and  their 
leaves  shriveling.  The  river  bed  was  bare  its  width 
in  places,  and  while  the  Kingfisher  made  merry  with 
his  family,  and  rattled,  feasting  from  Abram  John 
son's  to  the  Gar-hole,  the  Black  Bass  sought  its  deep 
pool,  and  lay  still. .  It  was  a  rare  thing  to  hear  it 
splash  in  those  days. 

The  prickly  heat  burned  until  the  souls  of  men 
were  tried.  Mary  slipped  listlessly  about  or  lay 
much  of  the  time  on  a  couch  beside  a  window,  where 
a  breath  of  air  stirred.  Despite  the  good  beginning 

118 


THE  HEART  OF  MARY  MALONE 

he  had  made  in  the  spring,  Jimmy  slumped  with  the 
heat  and  exposures  he  had  risked,  and  was  hard  to 
live  with. 

Dannie  was  not  having  a  good  time  himself. 
Since  Jimmy's  wedding,  life  had  been  all  grind  to 
Dannie,  but  he  kept  his  reason,  accepted  his  lot,  and 
ground  his  grist  with  patience  and  such  cheer  as  few 
men  could  have  summoned  to  the  aid  of  so  poor  a 
cause.  Had  there  been  any  one  to  notice  it,  Dannie 
was  tired  and  heat-ridden  also,  but  as  always,  Dannie 
sank  self,  and  labored  uncomplainingly  with  Jimmy's 
problems.  On  a  burning  August  morning  Dannie 
went  to  breakfast,  and  found  Mary  white  and  nervous, 
little  prepared  to  eat,  and  no  sign  of  Jimmy. 

"  Jimmy  sleeping?  "  he  asked. 

"  I  don't  know  where  Jimmy  is,"  Mary  answered 
coldly. 

"  Since  when?  "  asked  Dannie,  gulping  coffee,  and 
taking  hasty  bites,  for  he  had  begun  his  breakfast 
supposing  that  Jimmy  would  come  presently. 

"  He  left  as  soon  as  you  went  home  last  night," 
she  said,  "  and  he  has  not  come  back  yet." 

Dannie  did  not  know  what  to  say.  Loyal  to  the 
bone  to  Jimmy,  loving  each  hair  on  the  head  of  Mary 
Malone,  and  she  worn  and  neglected;  the  problem 

119 


AT   THE    FOOT   OF   THE    RAINBOW 

was  heartbreaking  in  any  solution  he  attempted,  and 
he  felt  none  too  well  himself.  He  arose  hastily,  mut 
tering  something  about  getting  the  work  done.  He 
brought  in  wood  and  water,  and  asked  if  there  was 
anything  more  he  could  do. 

"  Sure !  "  said  Mary,  in  a  calm,  even  voice.  "  Go 
to  the  barn,  and  shovel  manure  for  Jimmy  M alone, 
and  do  all  the  work  he  shirks,  before  you  do  anything 
for  yoursilf." 

Dannie  always  had  admitted  that  he  did  not  un 
derstand  women,  but  he  understood  a  plain  danger 
signal,  and  he  almost  ran  from  the  cabin.  In  the  fear 
that  Mary  might  think  he  had  heeded  her  hasty 
words,  he  went  to  his  own  barn  first,  just  to  show 
her  that  he  did  not  do  Jimmy's  work.  The  flies  and 
mosquitoes  were  so  bad  he  kept  his  horses  stabled 
through  the  day,  and  turned  them  to  pasture  at  night. 
So  their  stalls  were  to  be  cleaned,  and  he  set  to  work. 
When  he  had  finished  his  own  barn,  as  he  had  noth 
ing  else  to  do,  he  went  on  to  Jimmy's.  He  had  fin 
ished  the  stalls,  and  was  sweeping  when  he  heard  a 
sound  at  the  back  door,  and  turning  saw  Jimmy 
clinging  to  the  casing,  unable  to  stand  longer.  Dannie 
sprang  to  him,  and  helped  him  inside.  Jimmy  sank 
So  *he  floor.  Dannie  caught  up  several  empty  grain 

1 20 


THE   HEART   OF   MARY    MALONE 

sacks,  folded  them,  and  pushed  them  under  Jimmy's 
head  for  a  pillow. 

"  Dannish,  didsh  shay  y'r  nash'nal  flowerish  wash 
shisle?  "  asked  Jimmy. 

"  Yes,"  said  Dannie,  lifting  the  heavy  auburn 
head  to  smooth  the  folds  from  the  sacks. 

"Whyshlikeme?" 

41 1  dinna,"  answered  Dannie  wearily. 

"  Awful  jagsh  on,"  murmured  Jimmy,  sighed 
heavily,  and  was  off.  His  clothing  was  torn  and 
dust-covered,  his  face  was  purple  and  bloated,  and  his 
hair  was  dusty  and  disordered.  He  was  a  repulsive 
sight.  As  Dannie  straightened  Jimmy  ys  limbs  he 
thought  he  heard  a  step.  He  lifted  his  head  and 
leaned  forward  to  listen. 

"Dannie  Micnoun?"  called  the  same  even,  cold 
voice  he  had  heard  at  breakfast.  "  Have  you  left 
me,  too  ?  " 

Dannie  sprang  for  a  manger.  He  caught  a  great 
armload  of  hay,  and  threw  it  over  Jimmy.  He  gave 
one  hurried  toss  to  scatter  it,  for  Mary  was  in  the 
barn.  As  he  turned  to  interpose  his  body  between 
her  and  the  manger,  which  partially  screened  Jimmy, 
his  heart  sickened.  He  was  too  late.  She  had  seen. 
Frightened  to  the  soul,  he  stared  at  her.  She  came 

121 


AT   THE    FOOT   OF   THE    RAINBOW 

a  step  closer,  and  with  her  foot  gave  a  hand  of 
Jimmy's  that  lay  exposed  a  contemptuous  shove. 

*  You  didn't  get  him  complately  covered,"  she 
said.  "  How  long  have  you  had  him  here?  " 

Dannie  was  frightened  into  speech.  "  Na  a  min 
ute,  Mary;  he  juist  came  in  when  I  heard  ye.  I  was 
trying  to  spare  ye." 

"  Him,  you  mane,"  she  said,  in  that  same  strange 
voice.  "  I  suppose  you  give  him  money,  and  he  has 
a  bottle,  and  he's  been  here  all  night" 

"  Mary,"  said  Dannie,  "  that's  na  true.  I  have 
furnished  him  money.  He'd  mortgage  the  farm,  or 
do  something  worse  if  I  didna;  but  I  dinna  where 
he  has  been  all  nicht,  and  in  trying  to  cover  him,  my 
only  thought  was  to  save  ye  pain." 

"  And  whin  you  let  him  spind  money  you  know 
you'll  never  get  back,  and  loaf  while  you  do  his  work, 
and  when  you  lie  mountain  high,  times  without  num 
ber,  who  is  it  for?  " 

Then  fifteen  years'  restraint  slid  from  Dannie  like 
a  cloak,  and  in  the  torture  of  his  soul  his  slow  tongue 
outran  all  its  previous  history. 

"  Ye !  "  he  shouted.  "  It's  fra  Jimmy,  too,  but 
ye  first.  Always  ye  first !  " 

Mary  began  to  tremble.  Her  white  cheeks 
122 


"  She  shook  with  strangled  sobs  until  she  scarce  could  stand  alone  " 
(see  page  122} 


THE  HEART  OF  MARY  MALONE 

burned  red.  Her  figure  straightened,  and  her  hands 
clenched. 

"  On  the  cross!     Will  you  swear  it?"  she  cried. 

"  On  the  sacred  body  of  Jesus  Himself,  if  I  could 
face  Him,"  answered  Dannie.  "  OnythingI  Every 
thing  is  fra  ye  first,  Mary  1  " 

"Then  why?"  she  panted  between  gasps  for 
breath.  "  Tell  me  why?  If  you  have  cared  for  me 
enough  to  stay  here  all  these  years  and  see  that  I  had 
the  bist  tratemint  you  could  get  for  me,  why  didn't 
you  care  for  me  enough  more  to  save  me  this  ?  Oh, 
Dannie,  tell  me  why?  " 

And  then  she  shook  with  strangled  sobs  until  she 
scarce  could  stand  alone.  Dannie  Macnoun  cleared 
the  space  between  them  and  took  her  in  his  arms. 
Her  trembling  hands  clung  to  him,  her  head  dropped 
on  his  breast,  and  the  perfume  of  her  hair  in  his 
nostrils  drove  him  mad.  Then  the  tense  bulk  of  her 
body  struck  against  him,  and  horror  filled  his  soul. 
One  second  he  held  her,  the  next,  Jimmy  smother 
ing  under  the  hay,  threw  up  an  arm,  and  called  like 
a  petulant  child,  "  Dannie!  Make  shun  quit  shinish 
my  fashe!" 

And  Dannie  awoke  to  the  realization  that  Mary 
was  another  man's,  and  that  man,  one  who  trusted 

123 


AT    THE    FOOT   OF   THE    RAINBOW 

hin>  completely.  The  problem  was  so  much  too  big 
for  poor  Dannie  that  reason  kindly  slipped  a  cog. 
He  broke  from  the  grasp  of  the  woman,  fled  through 
*he  back  door,  and  took  to  the  woods. 

He  ran  as  if  fiends  were  after  him,  and  he  ran  and 
ran.  And  when  he  could  run  no  longer,  he  walked, 
but  he  went  on.  Just  on  and  on.  He  crossed  forests 
and  fields,  orchards  and  highways,  streams  and  rivers, 
deep  woods  and  swamps,  and  on,  and  on  he  went. 
He  felt  nothing,  and  saw  nothing,  and  thought  noth 
ing,  save  to  go  on,  always  on.  In  the  dark  he  stum 
bled  on  and  through  the  day  he  staggered  on,  and 
he  stopped  for  nothing,  save  at  times  to  lift  water 
to  his  parched  lips. 

The  bushes  took  his  hat,  the  thorns  ripped  his 
shirt,  the  water  soaked  his  shoes  and  they  spread  and 
his  feet  came  through  and  the  stones  cut  them  until 
they  bled.  Leaves  and  twigs  stuck  in  his  hair,  and 
his  eyes  grew  bloodshot,  his  lips  and  tongue  swollen, 
and  when  he  could  go  no  further  on  his  feet,  he 
crawled  on  his  knees,  until  at  last  he  pitched  forward 
on  his  face  and  lay  still.  The  tumult  was  over  and 
Mother  Nature  set  to  work  to  see  about  repairing 
damages. 

Dannie  was  so  badly  damaged,  soul,  heart,  and 
124 


THE   HEART   OF   MARY   MALONE 

body,  that  she  never  would  have  been  equal  to  the 
task,  but  another  woman  happened  that  way  and  she 
helped.  Dannie  was  carried  to  a  house  and  a  doc 
tor  dressed  his  hurts.  When  the  physician  got  down 
to  first  principles,  and  found  a  big,  white-bodied,  fine- 
faced  Scotchman  in  the  heart  of  the  wreck,  he  was 
amazed.  A  wild  man,  but  not  a  whiskey  bloat.  A 
crazy  man,  but  not  a  maniac.  He  stood  long  beside 
Dannie  as  he  lay  unconscious. 

"  I'll  take  oath  that  man  has  wronged  no  one," 
he  said.  "  What  in  the  name  of  God  has  some 
woman  been  doing  to  him?  " 

He  took  money  from  Dannie's  wallet  and  bought 
clothing  to  replace  the  rags  he  had  burned.  He 
filled  Dannie  with  nourishment,  and  told  the  woman 
who  found  him  that  when  he  awoke,  if  he  did  not 
remember,  to  tell  him  that  his  name  was  Dannie  Mac- 
noun,  and  that  he  lived  in  Rainbow  Bottom,  Adams 
County.  Because  just  at  that  time  Dannie  was  half 
way  across  the  state. 

A  day  later  he  awoke,  in  a  strange  room  and 
among  strange  faces.  He  took  up  life  exactly  where 
he  left  off.  And  in  his  ears,  as  he  remembered  his 
flight,  rang  the  awful  cry  uttered  by  Mary  Malone, 
and  not  until  then  did  there  come  to  Dannie  the 

125 


AT   THE   FOOT   OF   THE   RAINBOW 

realization  that  she  had  been  driven  to  seek  him  for 
help,  because  her  woman's  hour  was  upon  her.  Cold 
fear  froze  Dannie's  soul. 

He  went  back  by  railway  ?nd  walked  the  train 
most  of  the  way.  He  dropped  from  the  cars  at  the 
water  tank  and  struck  across  country,  and  again  he 
ran.  But  this  time  it  was  no  headlong  flight.  Straight 
as  a  homing  bird  went  Dannie  with  all  speed,  toward 
the  foot  of  the  Rainbow  and  Mary  Malone. 

The  Kingfisher  sped  rattling  down  the  river  when 
Dannie  came  crashing  along  the  bank. 

"  Oh,  God,  let  her  be  alive !  "  prayed  Dannie  as  he 
leaned  panting  against  a  tree  for  an  instant,  because 
he  was  very  close  now  and  sickeningly  afraid.  Then 
he  ran  on.  In  a  minute  it  would  be  over.  At  the  next 
turn  he  could  see  the  cabins.  As  he  dashed  along, 
Jimmy  Malone  rose  from  a  log  and  faced  him.  A 
white  Jimmy,  with  black-ringed  eyes  and  shaking 
hands. 

"Where  the  Hell  have  you  been?"  Jimmy  de 
manded. 

"  Is  she  dead?  "  cried  Dannie. 

"  The  doctor  is  talking  scare,"  said  Jimmy.  "  But 
I  don't  scare  so  easy.  She's  never  been  sick  in  her 
life,  and  she  has  lived  through  it  twice  before,  why 

126 


,   THE  HEART  OF  MARY   MALONE 

should  she  die  now?  Of  course  the  kid  is  dead 
again,'*  he  added  angrily. 

Dannie  shut  his  eyes  and  stood  still.  He  had 
helped  plant  star-flowers  on  two  tiny  cross-marked 
mounds  at  Five  Mile  Hill.  Now,  there  were  three. 
Jimmy  had  worn  out  her  love  for  him,  that  was 
plain.  "Why  should  she  die  now?"  To  Dannie 
it  seemed  that  question  should  have  been,  "  Why 
should  she  live?  " 

Jimmy  eyed  him  belligerently.  "  Why  in  the  name 
of  sirtse  did  you  cut  out  whin  I  was  off  me  pins?  " 
he  growled.  "  Of  course  I  don't  blame  you  for  cut 
ting  that  kind  of  a  party,  me  for  the  woods,  all  right, 
but  what  I  can't  see  is  why  you  couldn't  have  gone 
for  the  doctor  and  waited  until  I'd  slept  it  off  before 
you  wint." 

"  I  dinna  know  she  was  sick,"  answered  Dannie. 
"  I  deserve  anything  ony  ane  can  say  to  me,  and  it's 
all  my  fault  if  she  dees,  but  this  ane  thing  ye  got  to 
say  ye  know  richt  noo,  Jimmy.  Ye  got  to  say  ye 
know  that  I  dinna  understand  Mary  was  sick  when 
I  went." 

"  Sure !  I've  said  that  all  the  time,"  agreed 
Jimmy.  "But  what  I  don't  understand  is,  why  you 
went !  I  guess  she  thinks  it  was  her  fault.  I  came 

127 


AT   THE    FOOT   OF   THE    RAINBOW 

(out  here  to  try  to  study  it  out.  The  nurse-woman, 
domn  pretty  girl,  says  if  you  don't  get  back  before 
midnight,  it's  all  up.  You're  just  on  time,  Dannie. 
The  talk  in  the  house  is  that  she'll  wink  out  if  you 
don't  prove  to  her  that  she  didn't  drive  you  away. 
She  is  about  crazy  over  it.  What  did  she  do  to 
you?" 

"  Nothing !  "  exclaimed  Dannie.  "  She  was  so 
deathly  sick  she  dinna  what  she  was  doing.  I  can 
see  it  noo,  but  I  dinna  understand  then." 

"That's  all  right,"  said  Jimmy.  "She  didn't! 
She  kapes  moaning  over  and  over,  4  What  did  I  do  ?  * 
You  hustle  in  and  fix  it  up  with  her.  I'm  getting 
tired  of  all  this  racket." 

All  Dannie  heard  was  that  he  was  to  go  to  Mary. 
He  went  up  the  lane,  across  the  garden,  and  stepped 
in  at  the  back  door.  Beside  .the  table  stood  a  comely 
young  woman,  dressed  in  blue  and  white  stripes. 
She  was  doing  something  with  eggs  and  milk.  She 
glanced  at  Dannie,  and  finished  filling  a  glass.  As 
she  held  it  to  the  light,  "  Is  your  name  Macnoun?  " 
she  inquired. 

"  Yes,"  said  Dannie. 

"  Dannie  Macnoun?  "  she  asked 

"  Yes,"  said  Dannie. 

128 


THE   HEART   OF  MARY   MALONE 

"  Then  yo«  are  the  medicine  needed  here  just 
now,"  she  said,  as  if  that  were  the  most  natural  state 
ment  in  the  world.  "  Mrs.  Malone  seems  to  have  an 
idea  that  she  offended  you,  and  drove  you  from  home, 
just  prior  to  her  illness,  and  as  she  has  been  very  sick, 
she  is  in  no  condition  to  bear  other  trouble.  .You 
understand?  " 

"  Do  ye  understand  that  I  couldna  have  gone  if  I 
had  known  she  was  ill  ?  "  asked  Dannie  in  turn. 

"  From  what  she  has  said  in  delirium  I  have  been 
sure  of  that,"  replied  the  nurse.  "  It  seems  you  have 
been  the  stay  of  the  family  for  years.  I  have  a  very 
high  opinion  of  you,  Mr.  Macnoun.  Wait  until  I 
speak  to  her." 

The  nurse  vanished,  presently  returned,  and  as 
Dannie  passed  through  the  door,  she  closed  it  after 
him,  and  he  stood  still,  trying  to  see  in  the  dint 
light.'  That  great  snowy  stretch,  that  must  be  the 
bed.  That  tumbled  dark  circle,  that  must  be  Mary's 
hair.  That  dead  white  thing  beneath  it,  that  must 
be  Mary's  face.  Those  burning  lights,  flaming  on 
him,  those  must  be  Mary's  eyes.  Dannie  stepped 
softly  across  the  room,  and  bent  over  the  bed.  He 
tried  hard  to  speak  naturally. 

"  Mary,"  he  said,  "  oh,  Mary,  I  dinna  know  yc 
129 


AT   THE    FOOT   OF   THE    RAINBOW 

were  ill!  Oh,  believe  me,  I  dinna  realize  ye  were 
suffering  pain." 

She  smiled  faintly,  and  her  lips  moved.  Dannie 
bent  lower. 

"  Promise,"  she  panted.     "  Promise  you  will  stay 


now." 


Her  hand  fumbled  at  her  breast,  and  then  she 
slipped  on  the  white  cover  a  little  black  cross.  Dan 
nie  knew  what  she  meant.  He  laid  his  hand  on  the 
emblem  precious  to  her,  and  said  softly,  "  I  swear  I 
never  will  leave  ye  again,  Mary  Malone." 

A  great  light  swept  into  her  face,  and  she  smiled 
happily. 

"  Now  ye,"  said  Dannie.  He  slipped  the  cross 
into  her  hand.  "  Repeat  after  me,"  he  said.  "  I 
promise  I  will  get  well,  Dannie." 

44 1  promise  I  will  get  well,  Dannie,  if  I  can,"  said 
Mary. 

"  Na,"  said  Dannie.  "  That  winna  do.  Repeat 
what  I  said,  and  remember  it  is  on  the  cross.  Life 
hasna  been  richt  for  ye,  Mary,  but  if  ye  will  get  well, 
before  the  Lord  in  some  way  we  will  make  it  happier. 
Ye  will  get  well?" 

"  I  promise  I  will  get  well,  Dannie,"  said  Mary 
Malone,  and  Dannie  softly  left  the  room. 

130 


THE  HEART  OF  MARY  MALONE 

Outside  he  said  to  the  nurse,  "  What  can  I  do?  " 

She  told  him  everything  of  which  she  could  think 
that  would  be  of  benefit. 

"  Now  tell  me  all  ye  know  of  what  happened," 
commanded  Dannie. 

"  After  you  left,"  said  the  nurse,  "  she  was  in 
labor,  and  she  could  not  waken  her  husband,  and 
she  grew  frightened  and  screamed.  There  were  men 
passing  out  on  the  road.  They  heard  her,  and  came 
to  see  what  was  the  matter." 

"  Strangers?  "  shuddered  Dannie,  with  dry  lips. 

"  No,  neighbors.  One  man  went  for  the  nearest 
woman,  and  the  other  drove  to  town  for  a  doctor. 
They  had  help  here  almost  as  soon  as  you  could. 
But,  of  course,  the  shock  was  a  very  dreadful  thing, 
and  the  heat  of  the  past  few  weeks  has  been  ener 
vating." 

"  Ane  thing  more,"  questioned  Dannie.  "  Why 
do  her  children  dee  ?  " 

"  I  don't  know  about  the  others,"  answered  the 
nurse.  "  This  one  simply  couldn't  be  made  to 
breathe.  It  was  a  strange  thing.  It  was  a  fine  big 
baby,  a  boy,  and  it  seemed  perfect,  but  we  couldn't 
save  it.  I  never  worked  harder.  They  told  me  she 
had  lost  two  others,  and  we  tried  everything  of  which 


AT   THE    FOOT   OF   THE    RAINBOW 

we  could  think.  It  just  seemed  as  if  it  had  grown  a 
lump  of  flesh,  with  no  vital  spark  in  it." 

Dannie  turned,  went  out  of  the  door,  and  back 
along  the  lane  to  the  river  where  he  had  left  Jimmy. 
*  *  A  lump  of  flesh  with  na  vital  spark  in  it,'  "  he  kept 
repeating.  "  I  dinna  but  that  is  the  secret.  She  is 
almost  numb  with  misery.  All  these  days  when  she's 
been  without  hope,  and  these  awful  nichts,  when  she's 
watched  and  feared  alone,  she  has  no  wished  to  per 
petuate  him  in  children  who  might  be  like  him,  and  so 
at  their  coming  the  *  vital  spark '  is  na  in  them.  Oh, 
Jimmy,  Jimmy,  have  ye  Mary's  happiness  and  those 
three  little  graves  to  answer  for?  " 

He  found  Jimmy  asleep  where  he  had  left  him. 
Dannie  shook  him  awake.  "  I  want  to  talk  with  ye," 
he  said. 

Jimmy  sat  up,  and  looked  into  Dannie's  face.  He 
had  a  complaint  on  his  lips  but  it  died  there.  He 
tried  to  apologize.  "  I  am  almost  dead  for  sleep," 
he  said.  "  There  has  been  no  rest  for  anyone  here. 
What  do  you  think?" 

"  I  think  she  will  live,"  said  Dannie  dryly.  "  In 
spite  of  your  neglect,  and  my  cowardice,  I  think  she 
will  live  to  suffer  more  frae  us." 

Jimmy's  mouth  opened,  but  for  once  no  sound 


THE  HEART  OF  MARY  MALONE 

issued.  The  drops  of  perspiration  raised  on  his 
forehead. 

Dannie  sat  down,  and  staring  at  him  Jimmy  saw 
that  there  were  patches  of  white  hair  at  his  temples 
that  had  been  brown  a  week  before;  his  colorless 
face  was  sunken  almost  to  the  bone,  and  there  was 
a  peculiar  twist  about  his  mouth.  Jimmy's  heart 
weighed  heavily,  his  tongue  stood  still,  and  he  was 
afraid  to  the  marrow  in  his  bones. 

"  I  think  she  will  live,"  repeated  Dannie.  "  And 
about  the  suffering  more,  we  will  face  that  like  men, 
and  see  what  can  be  done  about  it.  This  makes  three 
little  graves  on  the  hill,  Jimmy,  what  do  they  mean 
to  ye?" 

"  Domn  bad  luck,"  said  Jimmy  promptly. 

"  Nothing  more?  "  asked  Dannie.  "  Na  responsi 
bility  at  all.  Ye  are  the  father  of  those  children. 
Have  ye  never  been  to  the  doctor,  and  asked  why  ye 
lost  them  ?  " 

"  No,  I  haven't,"  said  Jimmy. 

"  That  is  ane  thing  we  will  do  now,"  said  Dannie, 
44  and  then  we  will  do  more,  much  more." 

"  What  are  you  driving  at?  "  asked  Jimmy. 

"  The  secret  of  Mary's  heart,"  said  Dannie. 

The  cold  sweat  ran  from  the  pores  of  Jimmy's 
133 


AT   THE    FOOT   OF   THE    RAINBOW 

body.  He  licked  his  dry  lips,  and  pulled  his  hat  over 
his  eyes,  that  he  might  watch  Dannie  from  under  the 
brim. 

"  We  are  twa  big,  strong  men,"  said  Dannie. 
"  For  fifteen  years  we  have  lived  here  wi'  Mary.  The 
night  ye  married  her,  the  licht  of  happiness  went  out 
for  me.  But  I  shut  my  mouth,  and  shouldered  my 
burden,  and  went  on  with  my  best  foot  first;  because 
if  she  had  na  refused  me,  I  should  have  married  her, 
and  then  ye  would  have  been  the  one  to  suffer.  If  she 
had  chosen  me,  I  should  have  married  her,  juist  as  ye 
did.  Oh,  I've  never  forgotten  that!  So  I  have  na- 
been  a  happy  mon,  Jimmy.  We  winna  go  into  that 
any  further,  weVe  been  over  it  once.  It  seems  to  be  a 
form  of  torture  especially  designed  fra  me,  though 
at  times  I  must  confess,  it  seems  rough,  and  I  canna 
see  why,  but  we'll  cut  that  off  with  this :  life  has  been 
Hell's  hottest  sweat-box  fra  me  these  fifteen  years.". 

Jimmy  groaned  aloud.  Dannie's  keen  gray  eyes 
seemed  boring  into  the  soul  of  the  man  before  him, 
as  he  went  on. 

"  Now  how  about  ye?  Ye  got  the  girl  ye  wanted. 
Ye  own  a  guid  farm  that  would  make  ye  a  living,  and 
save  ye  money  every  year.  Ye  have  done  juist  what  ye 
pleased,  and  as  far  as  I  could,  I  have  helped  ye.  I've ' 

134 


THE   HEART   OF   MARY   MALONE 

had  my  eye  on  ye  pretty  close,  Jimmy,  and  if  ye  are  a 
happy  mon,  I  dinna  but  I'm  content  as  I  am.  What's 
your  trouble?  Did  ye  find  ye  dinna  love  Mary  after 
ye  won  her?  Did  ye  murder  your  mither  or  blacken 
your  soul  with  some  deadly  sin  ?  Mon !  If  I  had  in 
my  life  what  ye  every  day  neglect  and  torture,  Heaven 
would  come  doon,  and  locate  at  the  foot  of  the  Rain 
bow  f  ra  me.  But,  ye  are  no  happy,  Jimmy.  Let's  get 
at  the  root  of  the  matter.  While  ye  are  unhappy, 
Mary  will  be  also.  We  are  responsible  to  God  for 
her,  and  between  us,  she  is  empty  armed,  near  to  death, 
and  almost  dumb  with  misery.  I  have  juist  sworn  to 
her  on  the  cross  she  loves  that  if  she  will  make  ane 
more  effort,  and  get  well,  we  will  make  her  happy. 
Now,  how  are  we  going  to  do  it?  " 

Another  great  groan  burst  from  Jimmy,  and  he 
shivered  as  if  with  a  chill. 

"  Let  us  look  ourselves  in  the  face,"  Dannie  went 
on,  "  and  see  what  we  lack.  What  can  we  do  fra 
her?  What  will  bring  a  song  to  her  lips,  licht  to 
her  beautiful  eyes,  love  to  her  heart,  and  a  living 
child  to  her  arms?  Wake  up,  mon !  By  God,  if  ye 
dinna  set  to  work  with  me  and  solve  this  problem,  I'll 
shake  a  solution  out  of  ye!  What  I  must  suffer  is 
my  own,  but  what's  the  matter  with  ye,  and  why,  when 

135 


AT   THE    FOOT   OF   THE    RAINBOW 

she  loved  and  married  ye,  are  ye  breakin'  Mary's 
heart?  Answer  me,  mon!  " 

•  Dannie  reached  over  and  snatched  the  hat  from 
Jimmy's  forehead,  and  stared  at  an  inert  heap. 
Jimmy  lay  senseless,  and  he  looked  like  death.  Dan 
nie  rushed  down  to  the  water  with  the  hat,  and 
splashed  drops  into  Jimmy's  face  until  he  gasped  for 
breath.  When  he  recovered  a  little,  he  shrank  from 
Dannie,  and  began  to  sob,  as  if  he  were  a  sick  ten- 
year-old  child. 

"  I  knew  you'd  go  back  on  me,  Dannie,"  he  wav 
ered.  "  I've  lost  the  only  frind  I've  got,  and  I  wish 
I  was  dead." 

"  I  havena  gone  back  on  ye,"  persisted  Dannie, 
bathing  Jimmy's  face.  "  Life  means  nothing  to  me, 
save  as  I  can  use  it  fra  Mary,  and  fra  ye.  Be  quiet, 
and  sit  up  here,  and  help  me  work  this  thing  out. 
Why  are  ye  a  discontented  mon,  always  wishing  fra 
any  place  save  home?  Why  do  ye  spend  all  ye  earn 
foolishly,  so  that  ye  are  always  hard  up,  when  ye 
might  have  affluence?  Why  does  Mary  lose  her  chil 
dren,  and  why  does  she  noo  wish  she  had  na  mar 
ried  ye?" 

"  Who  said  she  wished  she  hadn't  married  me?  " 
*ried  Jimmy. 

136 


THE  HEART  OF  MARY  MALONE 

"  Do  ye  mean  to  say  yc  think  she  doesn't?  "  blazed 
Dannie. 

"  I  ain't  said  anything !  "  exclaimed  Jimmy. 

"  Na,  and  I  seem  to  have  damn  poor  luck  gettin' 
ye  to  say  anything.  I  dinna  ask  fra  tears,  nor 
faintin'  like  a  woman.  Be  a  mon,  and  let  me  into 
the  secret  of  this  muddle.  There  is  a  secret,  and  ye 
know  it.  What  is  it?  Why  are  ye  breaking  the 
heart  o'  Mary  Malone?  Answer  me,  or  'fore  God 
I'll  wring  the  answer  fra  your  body !  " 

And  Jimmy  keeled  over  again.  This  time  he  was 
gone  so  far  that  Dannie  was  frightened  into  a  panic, 
and  called  the  doctor  coming  up  the  lane  to  Jimmy 
before  he  had  time  to  see  Mary.  The  doctor  soon 
brought  Jimmy  around,  prescribed  quiet  and  sleep; 
talked  about  heart  trouble  developing,  and  symptoms 
of  tremens,  and  Dannie  poured  on  water,  and  gritted 
his  teeth.  And  it  ended  by  Jimmy  being  helped  to 
Dannie's  cabin,  undressed,  and  put  into  bed,  and  then 
Dannie  went  over  to  see  what  he  could  do  for  the 
nurse.  She  looked  at  him  searchingly. 

"  Mr.  Macnoun,  when  were  you  last  asleep  ?  "  she 
asked. 

"  I  forget,"  answered  Dannie. 

"  When  did  you  last  have  a  good  hot  meal?  >f 
137 


AT   THE    FOOT   OF   THE    RAINBOW 

"  I  dinna  know,"  replied  Dannie. 

"  Drink  that,"  said  the  nurse,  handing  him  the 
bowl  of  broth  she  carried,  and  going  back  to  the  stove 
for  another.  '  When  I  have  finished  making  Mrs. 
Malone  comfortable,  I'm  going  to  get  you  something 
to  eat,  and  you  are  going  to  eat  it.  Then  you  are 
going  to  lie  down  on  that  cot  where  I  can  call  you  if 
I  need  you,  and  sleep  six  hours,  and  then  you're  going 
to  wake  up  and  watch  by  this  door  while  I  sleep  my 
six.  Even  nurses  must  have  some  rest,  you  know." 

"  Ye  first,"  said  Dannie.  "  I'll  be  all  richt  when  I 
get  food.  Since  ye  mention  it,  I  believe  I  am  almost 
mad  with  hunger." 

The  nurse  handed  him  another  bowl  of  broth. 
"  Just  drink  that,  and  drink  slowly,"  she  said,  as  she 
left  the  room. 

Dannie  could  hear  her  speaking  softly  to  Mary, 
and  then  all  was  quiet,  and  the  girl  came  out  and 
closed  the  door.  She  deftly  prepared  food  for  Dan 
nie,  and  he  ate  all  she  would  allow  him,  and  begged 
for  more ;  but  she  firmly  told  him  her  hands  were  full 
now,  and  she  had  no  one  to  depend  on  but  him  to 
watch  after  the  turn  of  the  night.  So  Dannie  lay 
down  on  the  cot.  He  had  barely  touched  it  when  he 
thought  of  Jimmy,  so  he  got  up  quietly  and  started 

138 


THE  HEART  OF  MARY  MALONE 

home.  He  had  almost  reached  his  back  door  when  it 
opened,  and  Jimmy  came  out.  Dannie  paused, 
amazed  at  Jimmy's  wild  face  and  staring  eyes. 

"  Don't  you  begin  your  cursed  gibberish  again," 
cried  Jimmy,  at  sigh'  of  him.  "  I'm  burning  in  all 
the  tortures  of  fire  now,  and  I'll  have  a  drink  if  I 
smash  down  Casey's  and  steal  it." 

Dannie  jumped  for  him,  and  Jimmy  evaded  him 
and  fled.  Dannie  started  after.  He  had  reached 
the  barn  before  he  began  to  think.  "  I  depend  on 
you,"  the  nurse  had  said.  "  Jimmy,  wait !  "  he 
called.  "  Jimmy,  have  ye  any  money?"  Jimmy 
was  running  along  the  path  toward  town.  Dannie 
stopped.  He  stood  staring  after  Jimmy  for  a  sec 
ond,  and  then  he  deliberately  turned,  went  back,  and 
lay  down  on  the  cot,  where  the  nurse  expected  to  find 
him  when  she  wanted  him  to  watch  by  the  door  of 
Mary  M alone. 


THE   APPLE   OF   DISCORD   BECOMES   A 
JOINTED   ROD 


CHAPTER   VII 

THE   APPLE   OF   DISCORD   BECOMES  A   JOINTED   ROD 

HAT  do  you  think  about  fishing, 
Dannie?"  asked  Jimmy  Malone. 
"  There  was  a  licht  frost  last 
nicht,"  said  Dannie.    "  It  begins 
to  look  that  way.    I  should  think 
a  week  more,  especially  if  there 
should  come  a  guid  rain." 

Jimmy  looked  disappointed.  His  last  trip  to  town 
had  ended  in  a  sodden  week  in  the  barn,  and  at  Dan 
nie's  cabin.  For  the  first  time  he  had  carried  whiskey 
home  with  him.  He  had  insisted  on  Dannie  drink 
ing  with  him,  and  wanted  to  fight  when  he  would  not. 
He  addressed  the  bottle,  and  Dannie,  as  the  Sovereign 
Alchemist  by  turns,  and  "  transmuted  the  leaden  metal 
of  life  into  the  pure  gold  "  of  a  glorious  drunk,  untxl 

143 


AT   THE    FOOT   OF   THE    RAINBOW 

his  craving  was  satisfied.  Then  he  came  back  to 
work  and  reason  one  morning,  and  by  the  time  Mary 
was  about  enough  to  notice  him,  he  was  Jimmy  at 
his  level  best,  and  doing  more  than  he  had  in  years 
to  try  to  interest  and  please  her. 

Mary  had  fully  recovered,  and  appeared  as  strong 
as  she  ever  had  been,  but  there  was  a  noticeable  change 
in  her.  She  talked  and  laughed  with  a  gayety  that 
seemed  forced,  and  in  the  midst  of  it  her  tongue 
turned  bitter,  and  Jimmy  and  Dannie  fled  before  it. 

The  gray  hairs  multiplied  on  Dannie's  head  with 
rapidity.  He  had  gone  to  the  doctor,  and  to  Mary's 
sister,  and  learned  nothing  more  than  the  nurse 
could  tell  him.  Dannie  was  willing  to  undertake  any 
thing  in  the  world  for  Mary,  but  just  how  to  furnish 
the  "  vital  spark,"  to  an  unborn  babe,  was  too  big  a 
problem  for  him.  And  Jimmy  Malone  was  grow 
ing  to  be  another.  Heretofore,  Dannie  had  borne 
the  brunt  of  the  work,  and  all  of  the  worry.  He 
had  let  Jimmy  feel  that  his  was  the  guiding  hand. 
Jimmy's  plans  were  followed  whenever  it  was  possi 
ble,  and  when  it  was  not,  Dannie  started  Jimmy's 
way,  and  gradually  worked  around  to  his  own.  But, 
there  never  had  been  a  time  between  them,  when 
things  really  came  to  a  crisis,  and  Dannie  took  the 

144 


THE   APPLE    OF    DISCORD 

lead,  and  said  matters  must  go  a  certain  way,  that 
Jimmy  had  not  acceded.  In  reality,  Dannie  always 
had  been  master. 

Now  he  was  not.  Where  he  lost  control  he  did 
not  know.  He  had  tried  several  times  to  return  to 
the  subject  of  how  to  bring  back  happiness  to  Mary, 
and  Jimmy  immediately  developed  symptoms  of  an 
other  attack  of  heart  disease,  a  tendency  to  start  for 
town,  or  openly  defied  him  by  walking  away.  Yet, 
Jimmy  stuck  to  him  closer  than  he  ever  had,  and 
absolutely  refused  to  go  anywhere,  or  to  do  the  small 
est  piece  of  work  alone.  Sometimes  he  grew  sullen 
and  morose  when  he  was  not  drinking,  and  that  was 
very  unlike  the  gay  Jimmy.  Sometimes  he  grew 
wildly  hilarious,  as  if  he  were  bound  to  make  such 
a  racket  that  he  could  hear  no  sound  save  his  own 
voice.  So  long  as  he  stayed  at  home,  helped  with 
the  work,  and  made  an  effort  to  please  Mary,  Dannie 
hoped  for  the  best,  but  his  hopes  never  grew  so  bright 
that  they  shut  out  an  awful  fear  that  was  beginning 
to  loom  in  the  future.  But  he  tried  in  every  way  to 
encourage  Jimmy,  and  help  him  in  the  struggle  he 
did  not  understand,  so  when  he  saw  that  Jimmy  was 
disappointed  about  the  fishing,  he  suggested  that  he 
should  go  alone. 

14$ 


AT   THE    FOOT   OF   THE    RAINBOW 

**  I  guess  not !  "  said  Jimmy.  "  I'd  rather  go  to 
confission  than  to  go  alone.  What's  the  fun  of  fishin' 
alone?  All  the  fun  there  is  to  fishin'  is  to  watch  the 
other  fellow's  eyes  when  you  pull  in  a  big  one,  and 
try  to  hide  yours  from  him  when  he  gets  it.  I  guess 
not !  What  have  we  got  to  do  ?  " 

"  Finish  cutting  the  corn,  and  get  in  the  pumpkins 
before  there  comes  frost  enough  to  hurt  them." 

"  Well,  come  along!  "  said  Jimmy.  "  Let's  get  it 
over.  I'm  going  to  begin  fishing  for  that  Bass  the 
morning  after  the  first  black  frost,  if  I  do  go  alone, 
I  mean  it !  " 

"  But  ye  said — "  began  Dannie. 

"  Hagginy !  "  cried  Jimmy.  "  What  a  lot  of  time 
youVe  wasted  if  you've  been  kaping  account  of  all 
the  things  I've  said.  Haven't  you  learned  by  this 
time  that  I  lie  twice  to  the  truth  once?  " 

Dannie  laughed.  "  Dinna  say  such  things,  Jimmy. 
I  hate  to  hear  ye.  Of  course,  I  know  about  the  fifty 
coons  of  the  Canoper,  and  things  like  that;  honest, 
I  dinna  believe  ye  can  help  it.  But  na  man  need  lie 
about  a  serious  matter,  and  when  he  knows  he  is 
deceiving  another  who  trusts  him."  Jimmy  became 
so  white  that  he  felt  the  color  receding,  and  turned 
to  hide  his  face.  "  Of  course,  about  those  fifty  coons 

146 


THE   APPLE    OF    DISCORD 

noo,  what  was  the  harm  in  that?  Nobody  believed 
it.  That  wasna  deceiving  any  ane." 

"  Yes,  but  it  was,"  answered  Jimmy.  "  The  Bos 
ton  man  belaved  it,  and  I  guiss  he  hasn't  forgiven  me, 
if  he  did  take  my  hand,  and  drink  with  me.  You 
know  I  haven't  had  a  word  from  him  about  that  coon 
skin.  I  worked  awful  hard  on  that  skin.  Some  way, 
I  tried  to  make  it  say  to  him  again  that  I  was  sorry 
for  that  night's  work.  Sometimes  I  am  afraid  I  killed 
the  fellow." 

"  O-ho !  "  scoffed  Dannie.  "  Men  ain't  so  easy 
killed.  I  been  thinkin'  about  it,  too,  and  I'll  tell  ye 
what  I  think.  I  think  he  goes  on  long  trips,  and  only 
gets  home  every  four  or  five  months.  The  package 
would  have  to  wait.  His  folks  wouldna  try  to  send 
it  after  him.  He  was  a  monly  fellow,  all  richt,  and  ye 
will  hear  fra  him  yet." 

"  I'd  like  to,"  said  Jimmy,  absently,  beating  across 
his  palm  a  spray  of  goldenrod  he  had  broken.  "  Just 
a  line  to  tell  me  that  he  don't  bear  malice." 

"  Ye  will  get  it,"  said  Dannie.  "  Have  a  little 
patience.  But  that's  your  greatest  fault,  Jimmy.  Ye 
never  did  have  ony  patience." 

"  For  God's  sake,  don't  begin  on  me  faults  again," 
snapped  Jimmy.  "  I  reckon  I  know  me  faults  about 

147 


AT   THE    FOOT   OF   THE    RAINBOW 

as  well  as  the  nixt  fellow.  I'm  so  domn  full  of  faults 
that  I've  thought  a  lot  lately  about  fillin'  up,  and 
takin'  a  sleep  on  the  railroad." 

A  new  fear  wrung  Dannie's  soul.  "  Ye  never 
would,  Jimmy,"  he  implored. 

"  Sure  not!  "  cried  Jimmy.  "  I'm  no  good  Catho 
lic  livin',  but  if  it  come  to  dyin',  bedad  I  niver  could 
face  it  without  first  confissin'  to  the  praste,  and  that 
would  give  the  game  away.  Let's  cut  out  dyin',  and 
cut  corn !  " 

"  That's  richt,"  agreed  Dannie.  "  And  let's  work 
like  men,  and  then  fish  fra  a  week  or  so,  before  ice 
and  trapping  time  comes  again.  I'll  wager  I  can  beat 
ye  the  first  row." 

"  Bate  I"  scoffed  Jimmy.  "Bate!  With  them 
club-footed  fingers  of  yours?  You  couldn't  bate  an 
egg.  Just  watch  me !  If  you  are  enough  of  a  watch 
to  keep  your  hands  runnin'  at  the  same  time." 

Jimmy  worked  feverishly  for  an  hour,  and  then 
he  straightened  and  looked  about  him.  On  the  left 
lay  the  river,  its  shores  bordered  with  trees  and 
bushes.  Behind  them  was  deep  wood.  Before  them 
lay  their  open  fields,  sloping  down  to  the  bottom,  the 
cabins  on  one  side,  and  the  kingfisher  embankment  on 
the  other.  There  was  a  smoky  haze  in  the  air.  As 

148 


THE   APPLE    OF   DISCORD 

always  the  blackbirds  clamored  along  the  river.  Some 
crows  followed  the  workers  at  a  distance,  hunting 
for  grains  of  corn,  and  over  in  the  woods,  a  chewink 
scratched  and  rustled  among  the  deep  leaves  as  it 
searched  for  grubs.  From  time  to  time  a  flock  of 
quail  arose  before  them  with  a  whirr  and  scattered 
down  the  fields,  reassembling  later  at  the  call  of  their 
leader,  from  a  rider  of  the  snake  fence,  which  inclosed 
the  field. 

"  Bob,  Bob  White,"  whistled  Dannie. 

"  Bob,  Bob  White,"  answered  the  quail. 

"  I  got  my  eye  on  that  fellow,"  said  Jimmy. 
"  When  he  gets  a  little  larger,  I'm  going  after  him." 

"  Seems  an  awful  pity  to  kill  him,"  said  Dannie. 
"  People  rave  over  the  lark,  but  I  vow  I'd  miss  the 
quail  most  if  they  were  both  gone.  They  are  getting 


scarce." 


:<  Well,  I  didn't  say  I  was  going  to  kill  the  whole 
flock,"  said  Jimmy.  "  I  was  just  going  to  kill  a  few 
for  Mary,  and  if  I  don't,  somebody  else  will." 

"  Mary  dinna  need  onything  better  than  ane  of 
her  own  fried  chickens,"  said  Dannie.  "  And  its 
no  true  about  hunters.  We've  the  river  on  ane  side, 
and  the  bluff  on  the  other.  If  we  keep  up  our  fishing 
signs,  and  add  hunting  to  them,  and  juist  shut  the 

149 


AT   THE    FOOT   OF   THE    RAINBOW 

other  fellows  out,  the  birds  will  come  here  like  every 
thing  wild  gathers  in  National  Park,  out  West.  Ye 
bet  things  know  where  they  are  taken  care  of,  well 
enough. " 

Jimmy  snipped  a  spray  of  purple  ironwort  with  his 
corn-cutter,  and  stuck  it  through  his  suspender  buckle. 
"  I  think  that  would  be  more  fun  than  killiri'  them.  If 
you're  a  dacint  shot,  and  your  gun  is  clane  "  (Jimmy 
remembered  the  crow  that  had  escaped  with  the 
eggs  at  soap-making),"  you  pretty  well  know  you're 
goin'  to  bring  down  anything  you  aim  at.  But  it 
would  be  a  dandy  joke  to  shell  a  little  corn  as  we  husk 
it,  and  toll  all  the  quail  into  Rainbow  Bottom,  and 
then  kape  the  other  fellows  out.  BedadI  Let's 
do  it." 

Jimmy  addressed  the  quail: 

"  Quailie,  quailie  on  the  fince, 

We  think  your  singin's  just  imminse. 
Stay  right  here,  and  live  with  us, 

And  the  fellow  that  shoots  you  will  strike  a  fuss." 

"  We  can  protect  them  all  richt  enough,"  laughed 
Dannie.  "  And  when  the  snow  comes  we  can  feed 
Cardinals  like  cheekens.  Wish  when  we  threshed, 
we'd  saved  a  few  sheaves  of  wheat.  They  do  that 


THE   APPLE    OF   DISCORD 

in  Germany,  ye  know.  The  last  sheaf  of  the  harvest 
they  put  up  on  a  long  pole  at  Christmas,  as  a  thank- 
offering  to  the  birds  fra  their  care  of  the  crops.  My 
father  often  told  of  it.11 

"  That  would  be  great,"  said  Jimmy.  "  Now 
look  how  domn  slow  you  are !  Why  didn't  you  min- 
tion  it  at  harvest?  I'd  like  things  comin'  for  me  to 
take  care  of  them.  Gee !  Makes  me  feel  important 
just  to  think  about  it.  Next  year  we'll  do  it,  sure. 
They'd  be  a  lot  of  company.  A  man  could  work  in 
this  field  to-day,  with  all  the  flowers  around  him,  and 
the  colors  of  the  leaves  like  a  garden,  and  a  lot  of 
birds  talkin'  to  him,  and  not  feel  afraid  of  being 
alone." 

"Afraid?"  quoted  Dannie,  in  amazement. 

For  an  instant  Jimmy  looked  startled.  Then  his 
love  of  proving  his  point  arose.  *  Yes,  afraid !  "  he 
repeated  stubbornly.  "Afraid  of  being  away  from 
the  sound  of  a  human  voice,  because  whin  you  are, 
the  voices  of  the  black  divils  of  conscience  come  twist- 
in'  up  from  the  ground  in  a  little  wiry  whisper,  and 
moanin'  among  the  trees,  and  whistlin'  in  the  wind, 
and  rollin'  in  the  thunder,  and  above  all  in  the  dark 
they  screech,  and  shout,  and  roar,  *  We're  after  you, 
Jimmy  Malone!  We've  almost  got  you,  Jimmy 

15* 


AT   THE    FOOT   OF   THE    RAINBOW 

Malone!  You're  going  to  burn  in  Hell,  Jimmy 
Malone!'" 

Jimmy  leaned  toward  Dannie,  and  began  in  a  low 
voice,  but  he  grew  so  excited  as  he  tried  to  picture 
the  thing  that  he  ended  in  a  scream,  and  even 
then  Dannie's  horrified  eyes  failed  to  recall  him. 
Jimmy  straightened,  stared  wildly  behind  him,  and 
over  the  open,  hazy  field,  where  flowers  bloomed,  and 
birds  called,  and  the  long  rows  of  shocks  stood  uncon 
scious  auditors  of  the  strange  scene.  He  lifted  his 
hat,  and  wiped  the  perspiration  from  his  dripping 
face  with  the  sleeve  of  his  shirt,  and  as  he  raised 
his  arm,  the  corn-cutter  flashed  in  the  light. 

"My  God,  it's  awful,  Dannie!  It's  so  awful,  I 
can't  begin  to  tell  you !  " 

Dannie's  face  was  ashen. 

"  Jimmy,  dear  auld  fellow,"  he  said,  "  how  long 
has  this  been  going  on?  " 

"  A  million  years,"  said  Jimmy,  shifting  the  corn- 
cutter  to  the  hand  that  held  his  hat,  that  he  might 
moisten  his  fingers  with  saliva  and  rub  it  across  his 
parched  lips. 

"  Jimmy,  dear,"  Dannie's  hand  was  on  Jimmy's 
sleeve.  "  Have  ye  been  to  town  in  the  nicht,  or  any 
thing  like  that  lately?" 


THE    APPLE    OF    DISCORD 

"  No,  Dannie,  dear,  I  ain't,"  sneered  Jimmy,  set 
ting  his  hat  on  the  back  of  his  head  and  testing  the 
corn-cutter  with  his  thumb.  "  This  ain't  Casey's, 
me  lad.  I've  no  more  call  there,  at  this  minute,  than 
you  have." 

"  It  is  Casey's,  juist  the  same,"  said  Dannie  bit 
terly.  "  Dinna  ye  know  the  end  of  this  sort  of 
thing?" 

"  No,  bedad,  I  don't!  "  said  Jimmy.  "  If  I  knew 
any  way  to  ind  it,  you  can  bet  I've  had  enough.  I'd 
ind  it  quick  enough,  if  I  knew  how.  But  the  railroad 
wouldn't  be  the  ind.  That  would  just  be  the  begin- 
nin'.  Keep  close  to  me,  Dannie,  and  talk,  for  mercy 
sake,  talk !  Do  you  think  we  could  finish  the  corn  by 
noon?  " 

"  Let's  try!  "  said  Dannie,  as  he  squared  his  shoul 
ders  to  adjust  them  to  his  new  load.  "  Then  we'll 
get  in  the  pumpkins  this  afternoon,  and  bury  the  pota 
toes,  and  the  cabbage  and  turnips,  and  then  we're 
aboot  fixed  fra  winter." 

'*  We  must  take  one  day,  and  gather  our  nuts," 
suggested  Jimmy,  struggling  to  make  his  voice  sound 
natural,  "  and  you  forgot  the  apples.  We  must  bury 
thim  too." 

"  That's  so,"  said  Dannie,  "  and  when  that's  over, 
153 


AT   THE    FOOT   OF   THE    RAINBOW 

we'll  hae  nothing  left  to  do  but  catch  the  Bass,  and 
say  farewell  to  the  Kingfisher." 

"  I've  already  told  you  that  I  would  relave  you  of 
all  responsibility  about  the  Bass,"  said  Jimmy,  "  and 
when  I  do,  you  won't  need  trouble  to  make  your  adieus 
to  the  Kingfisher  of  the  Wabash.  He'll  be  one  bird 
that  won't  be  migrating  this  winter." 

Dannie  tried  to  laugh.  "  I'd  like  fall  as  much  as 
any  season  of  the  year,"  he  said,  "  if  it  wasna  for 
winter  coming  next." 

"  I  thought  you  liked  winter,  and  the  trampin' 
In  the  white  woods,  and  trappin',  and  the  long  even 
ings  with  a  book." 

"  I  do,"  said  Dannie.  "  I  must  have  been  thinkin' 
of  Mary.  She  hated  last  winter  so.  Of  course,  I 
had  to  go  home  when  ye  were  away,  and  the  nichts 
were  so  long,  and  so  cold,  and  mony  of  them  alone. 
I  wonder  if  we  canna  arrange  fra  one  of  her  sister's 
girls  to  stay  with  her  this  winter?  " 

"What's  the  matter  with  me?"  asked  Jimmy. 

"  Nothing,  if  only  ye'd  stay,"  answered  Dannie. 

"  All  I'll  be  out  of  nights,  you  could  put  in  one 
eye,"  said  Jimmy.  "  I  went  last  winter,  and  before, 
because  whin  they  clamored  too  loud,  I  could  be 
drivin'  out  the  divils  that  way,  for  a  while,  and  you 

154 


THE   APPLE   OF   DISCORD 

always  came  for  me,  but  even  that  won't  be  stopping 
it  now.  I  wouldn't  stick  my  head  out  alone  after 
dark,  not  if  I  was  dying !  " 

"  Jimmy,  ye  never  felt  that  way  before,"  said  Dan 
nie.  "  Tell  me  what  happened  this  summer  to 
start  ye." 

"  IVe  done  a  domn  sight  of  faleing  that  you  didn't 
know  anything  about,"  answered  Jimmy.  "  I  could 
work  it  off  at  Casey's  for  a  while,  but  this  summer 
things  sort  of  came  to  a  head,  and  I  saw  meself  for 
fair,  and  before  God,  Dannie,  I  didn't  like  me  looks." 

"  Well,  then,  I  like  your  looks,"  said  Dannie. 
u  Ye  are  the  best  company  I  ever  was  in.  Ye  are  the 
only  mon  I  ever  knew  that  I  cared  fra,  and  I  care  fra 
ye  so  much,  I  havna  the  way  to  tell  ye  how  much. 
You're  possessed  with  a  damn  fool  idea,  Jimmy,  and  ye 
got  to  shake  it  off.  Such  a  great-hearted,  big  mon  as 
ye!  I  winna  have  it!  There's  the  dinner  bell,  and 
richt  glad  I  am  of  it!  " 

That  afternoon  when  pumpkin  gathering  was  over 
?.id  Jimmy  had  invited  Mary  out  to  separate  the 
"  punk  "  from  the  pumpkins,  there  was  a  wagon-loa-d 
of  good  ones  above  what  they  would  need  for  their 
use.  Dannie  proposed  to  take  them  to  town  and  sell 
them.  To  his  amazement  Jimmy  refused  to  go  along. 

155 


AT   THE    FOOT   OF   THE    RAINBOW 

"I  told  you  this  morning  that  Casey  wasn't  calling 
me  at  prisent,"  he  said,  "  and  whin  I  am  not  called 
Td  best  not  answer.  I  have  promised  Mary  to  top  the 
onions  and  bury  the  cilery,  and  murder  the  bates." 

"  Do  what  wi5  the  beets?"  inquired  the  puzzled 
Dannie. 

"  Kill  thim !  Kill  thim  stone  dead.  I'm  too  tinder- 
hearted  to  be  burying  anything  but  a  dead  bate,  Dan 
nie.  That's  a  thousand  years  old,  but  laugh,  like  I 
knew  you  would,  old  Ramphirinkus !  No,  thank  you, 
I  don't  go  to  town !  " 

Then  Dannie  was  scared.  "  He's  going  to  be 
dreadfully  seek  or  go  mad,"  he  said. 

So  he  drove  to  the  village,  sold  the  pumpkins, 
filled  Mary's  order  for  groceries,  and  then  went  to 
the  doctor,  and  told  him  of  Jimmy's  latest  develop 
ments. 

"  It  is  the  drink,"  said  that  worthy  disciple  of 
Esculapius.  "  It's  the  drink!  In  time  it  makes  a 
fool  sodden  and  a  bright  man  mad.  Few  men  have 
sufficient  brains  to  go  crazy.  Jimmy  has.  He  must 
stop  the  drink." 

On  the  street,  Dannie  encountered  Father  Michael. 
The  priest  stopped  him  to  shake  hands. 

"How's  Mary  Malone?"  he  asked. 
156 


THE   APPLE    OF   DISCORD 

"  She  is  quite  well  noo,"  answered  Dannie,  "  but 
she  is  na  happy.  I  live  so  close,  and  see  so  much,  I 
know.  I've  thought  of  ye  lately.  I  have  thought 
of  coming  to  see  ye.  I'm  na  of  your  religion,  but 
Mary  is,  and  what  suits  her  is  guid  enough  for  me. 
I've  tried  to  think  of  everything  under  the  sun  that 
might  help,  and  among  other  things  I've  thought 
of  ye.  Jimmy  was  confirmed  in  your  church,  and  he 
was  more  or  less  regular  up  to  his  marriage." 

"  Less,  Mr.  Macnoun,  much  less !  "  said  the  priest. 
"  Since,  not  at  all.  Why  do  you  ask?  " 

"  He  is  sick,"  said  Dannie.  "  He  drinks  a  guid 
deal.  He  has  been  reckless  about  sleeping  on  the 
ground,  and  noo,  if  ye  will  make  this  confiden 
tial?" — the  priest  nodded — "he  is  talking  aboot 
sleeping  on  the  railroad,  and  he's  having  delusions. 
There  are  devils  after  him.  He  is  the  finest  fellow 
ye  ever  knew,  Father  Michael.  We've  been  friends 
all  our  lives.  Ye  have  had  much  experience  with  men, 
and  it  ought  to  count  fra  something.  From  all  ye 
know,  and  what  IVe  told  ye,  could  his  trouble  be 
cured  as  the  doctor  suggests?  " 

The  priest  did  a  queer  thing.  "  You  know  him  as 
no  living  man,  Dannie,"  he  said.  "  What  do  you 
think?" 

157 


AT   THE    FOOT   OF   THE    RAINBOW 

Dannie's  big  hands  slowly  opened  and  closed. 
Then  he  fell  to  polishing  the  nails  of  one  hand  on 
the  palm  of  the  other.  At  last  he  answered,  "  If 
ye'd  asked  me  that  this  time  last  year,  I'd  have  said 
5  it's  the  drink,'  at  a  jump.  But  times  this  summer, 
this  morning,  for  instance,  when  he  hadna  a  drop  in 
three  weeks,  and  dinna  want  ane,  when  he  could  have 
come  wi'  me  to  town,  and  wouldna,  and  there  were 
devils  calling  him  from  the  ground,  and  the  trees, 
and  the  sky,  out  in  the  open  cornfield,  it  looked  bad." 

The  priest's  eyes  were  boring  into  Dannie's  sick 
face.  "  How  did  it  look?  "  he  asked  briefly. 

"  It  looked,"  said  Dannie,  and  his  voice  dropped 
to  a  whisper,  "  it  looked  like  he  might  carry  a  damned 
ugly  secret,  that  it  would  be  better  fra  him  if  ye,  at 
least,  knew." 

"  And  the  nature  of  that  secret?  " 

Dannie  shook  his  head.  "  Couldna  give  a  guess 
at  it!  Known  him  all  his  life.  My  only  friend. 
Always  been  togither.  Square  a  mon  as  God  ever 
made.  There's  na  fault  in  him,  if  he'd  let  drink  alone. 
Got  more  faith  in  him  than  any  ane  I  ever  knew.  I 
wouldna  trust  mon  on  God's  footstool,  if  I  had  to 
lose  faith  in  Jimmy.  Come  to  think  of  it,  that  *  secret ' 
business  is  all  old  woman's  scare.  The  drink  is  telling 

158 


THE   APPLE    OF   DISCORD 

on  him.  If  only  he  could  be  cured  of  that  awful 
weakness,  all  heaven  would  come  down  and  settle 
in  Rainbow  Bottom." 

They  shook  hands  and  parted  without  Dannie  real 
izing  that  he  had  told  all  he  knew  and  learned  noth 
ing.  Then  he  entered  the  post  office  for  the  weekly 
mail.  He  called  for  Malone's  papers  also,  and  with 
them  came  a  slip  from  the  express  office  notifying 
Jimmy  that  there  was  a  package  for  him.  Dannie 
went  to  see  if  they  would  let  him  have  it,  and  as 
Jimmy  lived  in  the  country,  and  as  he  and  Dannie 
were  known  to  be  partners,  he  was  allowed  to  sign 
the  book,  and  carry  away  a  long,  slender,  wooden  box, 
with  a  Boston  tag.  The  Thread  Man  had  sent  Jimmy 
a  present,  and  from  the  appearance  of  the  box,  Dan 
nie  made  up  his  mind  that  it  was  a  cane. 

Straightway  he  drove  home  at  a  scandalous  rate  of 
speed,  and  on  the  way,  he  dressed  Jimmy  in  a  broad 
cloth  suit,  patent  leathers,  and  a  silk  hat.  Then  he 
took  him  to  a  gold  cure,  where  he  learned  to  abhor 
whiskey  in  a  week,  and  then  to  the  priest,  to  whom  he 
confessed  that  he  had  lied  about  the  number  of  coons 
in  the  Canoper.  And  so  peace  brooded  in  Rainbow 
Bottom,  and  all  of  them  were  happy  again.  For 
IK Itb  the  passing  of  summer,  Dannie  had  learned  that 

*J9 


AT   THE    FOOT   OF   THE    RAINBOW 

heretofore  there  had  been  happiness  of  a  sort,  for 
them,  and  that  if  they  could  all  get  back  to  the  old 
footing  it  would  be  well,  or  at  least  far  better  than 
it  was  at  present.  With  Mary's  tongue  dripping  gall, 
and  her  sweet  face  souring,  and  Jimmy  hearing  devils, 
no  wonder  poor  Dannie  overheated  his  team  in  a 
race  to  carry,  a  package  that  promised  to  furnish  some 
diversion. 

Jimmy  and  Mary  heard  the  racket,  and  standing 
on  the  celery  hill,  they  saw  Dannie  come  clattering 
up  the  lane,  and  as  he  saw  them,  he  stood  in  the 
wagon,  and  waved  the  package  over  his  head. 

Jimmy  straightened  with  a  flourish,  stuck  the  spade 
in  the  celery  hill,'  and  descended  with  great  delibera 
tion.  "  I  mintioned  to  Dannie  this  morning,"  he  said 
"  that  it  was  about  time  I  was  hearin'  from  the  Thrid 
Man." 

"  Oh !  Do  you  suppose  it  is  something  from  Bos 
ton?"  the  eagerness  in  Mary's  voice  made  it  sound 
almost  girlish  again. 

"  Hunt  the  hatchet !  "  hissed  Jimmy,  and  walked 
very  leisurely  into  the  cabin. 

Dannie  was  visibly  excited  as  he  entered.  "  I 
think  ye  have  heard  from  the  Thread  Mon,"  he  said, 
handing  Jimmy  the  package. 

1 60 


THE   APPLE    OF   DISCORD 

Jimmy  took  it,  and  examined  it  carefully.  He 
never  before  in  his  life  had  an  express  package,  the 
contents  of  which  he  did  not  know.  It  behooved  him 
to  get  all  there  was  out  of  the  pride  and  the  joy 
of  it. 

Mary  laid  down  the  hatchet  so  close  that  it  touched 
Jimmy's  hand,  to  remind  him.  "  Now  what  do  you 
suppose  he  has  sent  you?  "  she  inquired  eagerly,  her 
hand  straying  toward  the  packages. 

Jimmy  tested  the  box.  "  It  don't  weigh  much," 
he  said,  "  but  one  end  of  it's  the  heaviest." 

He  set  the  hatchet  in  a  tiny  crack,  and  with  one 
rip,  stripped  off  the  cover.  Inside  lay  a  long,  brown 
leather  case,  with  small  buckles,  and  in  one  end  a  little 
leather  case,  fiat  on  one  side,  rounding  on  the  other, 
and  it,  too,  fastened  with  a  buckle.  Jimmy  caught 
sight  of  a  paper  book  folded  in  the  bottom  of  the 
box,  as  he  lifted  the  case.  With  trembling  fingers 
he  unfastened  the  buckles,  the  whole  thing  unrolled, 
and  disclosed  a  case  of  leather,  sewn  in  four  divisions, 
from  top  to  bottom,  and  from  the  largest  of  these 
protruded  a  shining  object.  Jimmy  caught  this,  and 
began  to  draw,  and  the  shine  began  to  lengthen. 

"  Just  what  I  thought !  "  exclaimed  Dannie- 
"  He's  sent  ye  a  fine  cane." 

161 


AT   THE    FOOT   Oi-    THE    RAINBOW 

"  A  hint  to  kape  out  of  the  small  of  his  back  the 
nixt  time  he  goes  promenadin'  on  a  cow-kitcher !  The 
divil !  "  exploded  Jimmy. 

His  quick  eyes  had  caught  a  word  on  the  cover  of 
the  little  book  in  the  bottom  of  the  box. 

"  A  cane !  A  cane !  Look  at  that,  will  ye  ?  "  He 
flashed  six  inches  of  grooved  silvery  handle  before 
their  faces,  and  three  feet  of  shining  black  steel, 
scarcely  thicker  than  a  lead  pencil.  "  Cane !  "  he 
cried  scornfully.  Then  he  picked  up  the  box,  and 
opening  it  drew  out  a  little  machine  that  shone  like 
a  silver  watch,  and  setting  it  against  the  handle, 
slipped  a  small  slide  over  each  end,  and  it  held  firmly, 
and  shone  bravely. 

"Oh,  Jimmy,  what  is  it?"  cried  Mary. 

"  Me  cane!  "  answered  Jimmy.  il  Me  new  cane 
from  Boston.  Didn't  you  hear  Dannie  sayin'  what 
it  was?  This  little  arrangemint  is  my  cicly-meter, 
like  they  put  on  wheels,  and  buggies  now,  to  tell  how 
far  you've  traveled.  The  way  this  works,  I  just  tie 
this  silk  thrid  to  me  door  knob  and  off  I  walks,  it 
a  reeling  out  behind,  and  whin  I  turn  back  it  takes 
up  as  I  come,  and  whin  I  get  home  I  take  the  yard 
stick  and  measure  me  string,  and  be  the  same  token, 
it  tells  me  how  far  I've  traveled."  As  he  talked  he 

162 


THE   APPLE    OF   DISCORD 

drew  out  another  shining  length  and  added  it  to  the 
first,  and  then  another  and  a  last,  fine  as  a  wheat 
straw.  "  These  last  jints  I'm  adding,"  he  explained 
to  Mary,  "  are  so  that  if  I  have  me  cane  whin  I'm 
riding  I  can  stritch  it  out  and  touch  up  me  horses 
with  it.  And  betimes,  if  I  should  iver  break  me  old 
cane  fish  pole,  I  could  take  this  down  to  the  river, 
and  there,  the  books  call  it  *  whipping  the  water.' 
See!  Cane,  be  Jasus!  It's  the  Jim-dandiest  little 
fishing  rod  anybody  in  these  parts  iver  set  eyes  on. 
Lord!  What  a  beauty!" 

He  turned  to  Dannie  and  shook  the  shining,  slender 
thing  before  his  envious  eyes. 

'*  Who  gets  the  Black  Bass  now?  "  he  triumphed  in 
tones  of  utter  conviction. 

There  is  no  use  in  taking  time  to  explain  to  any 
fisherman  who  has  read  thus  far  that  Dannie,  the 
patient;  Dannie,  the  long-suffering,  felt  abused.  How 
would  you  feel  yourself? 

'  The  Thread  Man  might  have  sent  twa,"  was  his 
thought.  "  The  only  decent  treatment  he  got  that 
nicht  was  frae  me,  and  if  I'd  let  Jimmy  hit  him,  he'd 
gone  through  the  wall.  But  there  never  is  anything 
fra  me!" 

And  that  was  true.     There  never  was. 
I  ftp 


AT   THE    FOOT   OF   THE    RAINBOW 

Aloud  he  said,  "  Dinna  bother  to  hunt  the  steel 
yards,  Mary.  We  winna  weigh  it  until  he  brings  it 
home." 

4  Yes,  and  by  gum,  I'll  bring  it  with  this !  Look, 
here  is  a  picture  of  a  man  in  a  boat,  pullin'  in  a  whale 
with  a  pole  just  like  this,"  bragged  Jimmy. 

"  Yes,"  said  Dannie.  "  That's  what  it's  made  for. 
A  boat  and  open  water.  If  ye  are  going  to  fish  wP 
that  thing  along  the  river  we'll  have  to  cut  doon  all 
the  trees,  and  that  will  dry  up  the  water.  That's 
na  for  river  fishing." 

Jimmy  was  intently  studying  the  book.  Mary  tried 
to  take  the  rod  from  his  hand. 

"Let  be!"  he  cried,  hanging  on.  "You'll 
break  it!" 

"  I  guess  steel  don't  break  so  easy,"  she  said  ag- 
grievedly.  "  I  just  wanted  to  *  heft '  it." 

"  Light  as  a  feather,"  boasted  Jimmy.  "  Fish  all 
day  and  it  won't  tire  a  man  at  all.  Done — unjoint 
it  and  put  it  in  its  case,  and  not  go  dragging  up 
everything  along  the  bank  like  a  living  stump-puller. 
This  book  says  this  line  will  bear  twinty  pounds  pres 
sure,  and  sometimes  it's  takin'  an  hour  to  tire  out  a 
fish,  if  it's  a  fighter.  I  bet  you  the  Black  Bass  is  a 
fighter,  from  what  we  know  of  him." 

164 


THE   APPLE    OF   DISCORD 

"  Ye  can  watch  me  land  him  and  see  what  ye 
think  about  it,"  suggested  Dannie. 

Jimmy  held  the  book  with  one  hand  and  lightly 
waved  the  rod  with  the  other,  in  a  way  that  would  | 
have  developed  nerves  in  an  Indian.     He  laughed 
absently. 

f  With  me  shootin'  bait  all  over  his  pool  with 
this?  "he  asked.  "I  guess  not!" 

"  But  you  can't  fish  for  the  Bass  with  that,  Jimmy 
Malone,"  cried  Mary  hotly.  "  You  agreed  to  fish 
fair  for  the  Bass,  and  it  wouldn't  be  fair  for  you 
to  use  that,  whin  Dannie  only  has  his  old  cane  pole. 
Dannie,  get  you  a  steel  pole,  too,"  she  begged. 

"  If  Jimmy  is  going  to  fish  with  that,  there  will  be 
all  the  more  glory  in  taking  the  Bass  from  him  with 
the  pole  I  have,"  answered  Dannie. 

*  You  keep  out,"  cried  Jimmy  angrily  to  Mary. 
"  It  was  a  fair  bargain.  He  made  it  himself.  Each 
man  was  to  fish  surface  or  deep,  and  with  his  own  pole 
and  bait.  I  guess  this  is  my  pole,  ain't  it?  " 

'  Yes,"  said  Mary.  "  But  it  wasn't  yours  whin  you 
made  that  agreemint.  You  very  well  know  Dannie 
expected  you  to  fish  with  the  same  kind  of  pole  and 
bait  that  he  did;  didn't  you,  Dannie?  " 

"  Yes,"  said  Dannie,  "  I  did.     Because  I  never 

165 


AT   THE    FOOT   OF   THE    RAINBOW 

dreamed  of  him  havin'  any  other.  But  since  he  h&« 
it,  I  think  he's  in  his  rights  if  he  fishes  with  it.  I  dinna 
care.  In  the  first  place  he  will  only  scare  the  Bass 
away  from  him  with  the  racket  that  reel  will  make,  and 
in  the  second,  if  he  tries  to  land  it  with  that  thing, 
he  will  smash  it,  and  lose  the  fish.  There's  a  long- 
handled  net  to  land  things  with  that  goes  with  those 
rods.  He'd  better  sent  ye  one.  Now  you'll  have  to 
jump  into  the  river  and  land  a  fish  by  hand  if  ye 
hook  it." 

"  That's  true !  "  cried  Mary.  "  Here's  one  in  a 
picture." 

She  had  snatched  the  book  from  Jimmy.  He 
snatched  it  back. 

"  Be  careful,  you'll  tear  that  I  "  he  cried.  "  I  was 
just  going  to  say  that  I  would  get  some  fine  wire  or 
mosquito  bar  and  make  one." 

Dannie's  fingers  were  itching  to  take  the  rod,  if 
only  for  an  instant.  He  looked  at  it  longingly.  But 
Jimmy  was  impervious.  He  whipped  it  softly  about 
and  eagerly  read  from  the  book. 

:<  Tells  here  about  a  man  takin'  a  fish  that  weighed 
forty  pounds  with  a  pole  just  like  this,"  he  announced. 
"  Scat !  Jumpin'  Jehosophat !  What  do  you  think 
of  that  1" 

1 66 


THE    APPLE    OF    DISCORD 

"  Couldn't  you  fish  turn  about  with  it?  "  inquired 
Mary. 

"  Na,  we  couldna  fish  turn  about  with  it,"  answered 
Dannie.  "  Na  with  that  pole.  Jimmy  would  throw  a 
fit  if  anybody  else  touched  it.  And  he's  welcome  to  it. 
He  never  in  this  world  will  catch  the  Black  Bass  with 
it.  If  I  only  had  some  way  to  put  juist  fifteen  feet 
more  line  on  my  pole,  I'd  show  him  how  to  take  the 
Bass  to-morrow.  The  way  we  always  have  come  to 
lose  it  is  with  too  short  lines.  We  have  to  try  to  land 
it  before  it's  tired  out  and  it's  strong  enough  to  break 
and  tear  away.  It  must  have  ragged  jaws  and  a  dozen 
pieces  of  line  hanging  to  it,  fra  both  of  us  have 
hooked  it  time  and  again.  When  it  strikes  me,  if  I  only 
sould  give  it  fifteen  feet  more  line,  I  could  land  it." 

"  Can't  you  fix  some  way?  "  asked  Mary. 

"  I'll  try,"  answered  Dannie. 

"  And  in  the  manetime,  I'd  just  be  givin'  it  twinty 
off  me  dandy  little  reel,  and  away  goes  me  with  Mr. 
Bass,"  said  Jimmy.  "  I  must  take  it  to  town  and 
have  its  picture  took  to  sind  the  Thrid  Man." 

And  that  was  the  last  straw.  Dannie  had  given 
up  being  allowed  to  touch  the  rod,  and  was  on  his 
way  to  unhitch  his  team  and  do  the  evening  work. 
The  day  had  been  trying  and  just  for  the  moment 


AT  THE    FOOT   OF  THE    RAINBOW 

he  forgot  everything  save  that  his  longing  fingers 
had  not  touched  that  beautiful  little  fishing  rod. 

"  The  Boston  man  forgot  another  thing,"  he  said. 
"  The  Dude  who  shindys  'round  with  those  things 
in  pictures,  wears  a  damn,  dinky,  little  pleated  coat  1  " 


168 


WHEN  THE  BLACK  BAS^  STRUCK 


CHAPTER   VIII 

WHEN  THE  BLACK  BASS   STRUCK 

••  Ix)ts  of  fish  down  in  the  brook, 
All  you  need  is  a  rod,  and  a  line,  and  a  hook," 

UMMED    Jimmy,    still    lovingly 
fingering  his  possessions. 

"  Did  Dannie  iver  say  a  thing 
like  that  to  you  before  ?  "  asked 
Mary. 

"  Oh,  he's  dead  sore,"  explained 
Jimmy.  "  He  thinks  he  should  have  had  a  jintcd 
rod,  too." 

"  And  so  he  had,"  replied  Mary.  "  You  said 
yoursilf  that  you  might  have  killed  that  man  if  Dan 
nie  hadn't  showed  you  that  you  were  wrong." 

"  You  must  think  stuff  like  this  is  got  at  the  tia- 
cint  store,"  said  Jimmy. 

171 


AT   THE    FOOT   OF   THE    RAINBOW 

"  Oh,  no  I  don't  I  "  said  Mary.  "  I  expect  it  cost 
three  or  four  dollars." 

*  Three  or  four  dollars,"  sneered  Jimmy.  "  All 
the  sinse  a  woman  has !  Feast  your  eyes  on  this  book 
and  rade  that  just  this  little  reel  alone  cost  fifteen, 
and  there's  no  telling  what  the  rod  is  worth.  Why 
it's  turned  right  out  of  pure  steel,  same  as  if  it  were 
wood.  Look  for  yoursilf." 

"  Thanks,  no !    I'm  afraid  to  touch  it,"  said  Mary. 

"  Oh,  you  are  sore  too !  "  laughed  Jimmy.  "  With 
all  that  money  in  it,  I  should  think  you  could  see  why 
I  wouldn't  want  it  broke." 

"  You've  sat  there  and  whipped  it  around  for  an 
hour.  Would  it  break  it  for  me  or  Dannie  to  do  the 
same  thing?  If  it  had  been  his,  you'd  have  had  a 
worm  on  it  and  been  down  to  the  river  trying  it  for 
him  by  now." 

"  Worm !  "  scoffed  Jimmy.  "  A  worm !  That's 
a  good  one!  Idjit!  You  don't  fish  with  worms 
with  a  jinted  rod." 

"  Well  what  do  you  fish  with  ?    Humming  birds  ?  " 

"  No.  You  fish  with — "  Jimmy  stopped  and  eyed 
Mary  dubiously.  "  You  fish  with  a  lot  of  things," 
he  continued.  "  Some  of  thim  come  in  little  books 
and  they  look  like  moths,  and  some  like  snake-faders, 

172 


WHEN  THE  BLACK  BASS  STRUCK 

and  some  of  them  are  buck-tail  and  bits  of  tin, 
painted  to  look  shiny.  Once  there  was  a  man  in 
town  who  had  a  minnie  made  of  rubber  and  all 
painted  up  just  like  life.  There  were  hooks  on  its 
head,  and  on  its  back,  and  its  belly,  and  its  tail,  so's 
that  if  a  fish  snapped  at  it  anywhere  it  got  hooked." 

"  I  should  say  so !  "  exclaimed  Mary.  "It's  no 
fair  way  to  fish,  to  use  more  than  one  hook.  You 
might  just  as  well  take  a  net  and  wade  in  and  seine 
out  the  fish  as  to  take  a  lot  of  hooks  and  rake  thim 
out." 

"  Well,  who's  going  to  take  a  lot  of  hooks  and  rake 
thim  out?" 

"  I  didn't  say  anybody  was.  I  was  just  saying  it 
wouldn't  be  fair  to  the  fish  if  they  did." 

"  Course  I  wouldn't  fish  with  no  riggin'  like  that, 
when  Dannie  only  has  one  old  hook.  Whin  we  fish 
for  the  Bass,  I  won't  use  but  one  hook  either.  All 
the  same,  I'm  going  to  have  some  of  those  fancy  baits. 
I'm  going  to  get  Jim  Skeels  at  the  drug  store  to 
order  thim  for  me.  I  know  just  how  you  do,"  said 
Jimmy  flourishing  the  rod.  *  You  put  on  your  bait 
and  quite  a  heavy  sinker,  and  you  wind  it  up  to  the 
ind  of  your  rod,  and  thin  you  stand  up  in  your 

boat " 

173 


AT   THE    FOOT    OF   THE    RAINBOW 

"  Stand  up  in  your  boat!  " 

"  I  wish  you'd  let  me  finish ! — or  on  the  bank,  and 
you  take  this  little  whipper-snapper,  and  you  touch 
the  spot  on  the  reel  that  relases  the  thrid,  and  you 
give  the  rod  a  little  toss,  aisy  as  throwin'  away  chips, 
and  off  maybe  fifty  feet  your  bait  hits  the  water, 
*  spat  I '  and  *  snap !  '  goes  Mr.  Bass,  and  '  stick !  ' 
goes  the  hook.  See  ?  " 

"  What  I  see  is  that  if  you  want  to  fish  that  way 
in  the  Wabash,  you'll  have  to  wait  until  the  dredge 
goes  through  and  they  make  a  canal  out  of  it ;  for  be 
the  time  you'd  throwed  fifty  feet,  and  your  fish  had 
run  another  fifty,  there'd  be  just  one  hundred  snags, 
and  logs,  and  stumps  between  you ;  one  for  every  foot 
of  the  way.  It  must  look  pretty  on  deep  water, 
where  it  can  be  done  right,  but  I  bet  anything  that 
if  you  go  to  fooling  with  that  on  our  river,  Dannie 
gets  the  Bass." 

"  Not  much,  Dannie  don't  *  gets  the  Bass,'  "  said 
Jimmy  confidently.  "  Just  you  come  out  here  and 
let  me  show  you  how  this  works.  Now  you  see,  I  put 
me  sinker  on  the  ind  of  the  thrid,  no  hook  of  course, 
for  practice,  and  I  touch  this  little  spring  here,  and 
give  me  little  rod  a  whip  and  away  goes  me  bait, 
slick  as  grase.  Mr.  Bass  is  layin'  in  thim  bass  weeds 

174 


WHEN  THE  BLACK  BASS  STRUCK 

right  out  there,  foreninst  the  pie-plant  bed,  and  the 
bait  strikes  the  water  at  the  idge,  see !  and  *  snap,'  he 
takes  it  and  sails  off  slow,  to  swally  it  at  leisure. 
Here's  where  I  don't  pull  a  morsel.  Jist  let  him  rin 
and  swally,  and  whin  me  line  is  well  out  and  he  has 
me  bait  all  digistid,  *  yank,'  I  give  him  the  round-up, 
and  thin,  the  fun  begins.  He  leps  clear  of  the  water 
and  I  see  he's  tin  pound.  If  he  rins  from  me,  I  give 
him  rope,  and  if  he  rins  to,  I  dig  in,  workin'  me  little 
machane  for  dear  life  to  take  up  the  thrid  before  it 
slacks.  Whin  he  sees  me,  he  makes  a  dash  back,  and 
I  just  got  to  relase  me  line  and  let  him  go,  because 
he'd  bust  this  little  silk  thrid  all  to  thunder  if  I  tried 
to  force  him  onpleasant  to  his  intintions,  and  so  we 
kape  it  up  until  he's  plum  wore  out  and  comes  a  prom- 
enadin'  up  to  me  boat,  bank  I  mane,  and  I  scoops 
him  in,  and  that's  sport,  Mary !  That's  man's  fishin'  I 
Now  watch!  He's  in  thim  bass  weeds  before  the 
pie-plant,  like  I  said,  and  I'm  here  on  the  bank,  and 
I  think  he's  there,  so  I  give  me  little  jinted  rod  a 

whip  and  a  swing " 

Jimmy  gave  the  rod  a  whip  and  a  swing.  The 
sinker  shot  in  air,  struck  the  limb  of  an  apple  tree 
and  wound  a  dozen  times  around  it.  Jimmy  said 
things  and  Mary  giggled.  She  also  noticed  that 

I7S 


AT   THE    FOOT   OF   THE    RAINBOW 

Dannie  had  stopped  work  and  was  standing  in  the 
barn  door  watching  intently.  Jimmy  climbed  the 
tree,  unwound  the  line  and  tried  again. 

"  I  didn't  notice  that  domn  apple  limb  stickin'  out 
there,"  he  said.  "  Now  you  watch !  Right  out  there 
among  the  bass  weeds  foreninst  the  pie-plant " 

To  avoid  another  limb,  Jimmy  aimed  too  low  and 
the  sinker  shot  under  the  well  platform  not  ten  feet 
from  him. 

"  Lucky  you  didn't  get  fast  in  the  bass  weeds," 
said  Mary  as  Jimmy  reeled  in. 

'  Will,  I  got  to  get  me  range,"  explained  Jimmy, 
"  This  time " 

Jimmy  swung  too  high.  The  spring  slipped  from 
under  his  unaccustomed  thumb.  The  sinker  shot 
above  and  behind  him  and  became  entangled  in 
the  eaves,  while  yards  of  the  fine  silk  line  flew  off  the 
spinning  reel  and  dropped  in  tangled  masses  at  his 
feet,  and  in  an  effort  to  do  something  Jimmy  reversed 
the  reel  and  it  wound  back  on  tangles  and  all  until 
it  became  completely  clogged.  Mary  had  sat  down 
on  the  back  steps  to  watch  the  exhibition.  Now,  she 
stood  up  to  laugh. 

"  And  that's  just  what  will  happen  to  you  at  the 
river,"  she  said.  "  While  you  are  foolin'  with  that 

176 


WHEN  THE  BLACK  BASS  STRUCK 

thing,  which  ain't  for  rivers,  and  which  you  don't 
know  beans  about  handlin',  Dannie  will  haul  in  the 
Bass,  and  serve  you  right,  too !  " 

"  Mary,"  said  Jimmy,  "  I  niver  struck  ye  in  all  me 
life,  but  if  ye  don't  go  in  the  house,  and  shut  up,  I'll 
knock  the  head  off  ye  I  " 

"  I  wouldn't  be  advisin'  you  to,"  she  said.  "  Dan 
nie  is  watching  you." 

Jimmy  glanced  toward  the  barn  in  time  to  see  Dan 
nie's  shaking  shoulders  as  he  turned  from  the  door. 
With  unexpected  patience,  he  firmly  closed  his  lips 
and  went  after  a  ladder.  By  the  time  he  had  the 
sinker  loose  and  the  line  untangled,  supper  was  ready. 
By  the  time  he  had  mastered  the  reel,  and  could  land 
the  sinker  accurately  in  front  of  various  imaginary 
beds  of  bass  weeds,  Dannie  had  finished  the  night 
work  in  both  stables  and  gone  home.  But  his  back 
door  stood  open  and  therefrom  there  protruded  the 
point  of  a  long,  heavy  cane  fish  pole.  By  the  light 
of  a  lamp  on  his  table,  Dannie  could  be  seen  working 
with  pincers  and  a  ball  of  wire. 

"I  wonder  what  he  thinks  he  can  do?"  said 
Jimmy. 

"  I  suppose  he  is  trying  to  fix  some  way  to  get  that 
fifteen  feet  more  line  he  needs,"  replied  Mary. 

177 


AT   THE    FOOT   OF   THE    RAINBOW 

When  they  went  to  bed  the  light  still  burned  and 
the  broad  shoulders  of  Dannie  bent  over  the  pole. 
Mary  had  fallen  asleep,  but  she  was  awakened  by 
Jimmy  slipping  from  the  bed.  He  went  to  the  win 
dow  and  looked  toward  Dannie's  cabin.  Then  he 
left  the  bedroom  and  she  could  hear  him  crossing  to 
the  back  window  of  the  next  room.  Then  came  a 
smothered  laugh  and  he  softly  called  her.  She  went 
to  him. 

Dannie's  figure  stood  out  clear  and  strong  in  the 
moonlight,  in  his  wood-yard.  His  black  outline 
looked  unusually  powerful  in  the  silvery  whiteness 
surrounding  it. 

He  held  his  fishing  pole  in  both  hands  and  swept 
a  circle  about  him  that  would  have  required  consider 
able  space  on  Lake  Michigan,  and  made  a  cast 
toward  tlie  barn.  The  line  ran  out  smoothly  and 
evenly,  and  through  the  gloom  Mary  saw  Jimmy's 
Sgure  straighten  and  his  lips  close  in  surprise.  Then 
Dannie  began  taking  in  line.  That  process  was  so 
slow,  Jimmy  doubled  up  and  laughed  again. 

"  Be  lookin'  at  that,  will  ye?  "  he  heaved.  "  What 
does  the  domn  fool  think  the  Black  Bass  will  be  doin' 
while  he  is  takin'  in  line  on  that  young  windlass?  " 

M  There' d  be  no  room  on  the  river  to  do  that," 


WHEN  THE   BLACK  BASS  STRUCK 

answered  Mary  serenely.  "  Dannie  wouldn't  be  so 
foolish  as  to  try.  All  he  wants  now  is  to  see  if  his 
line  will  run,  and  it  will.  Whin  he  gets  to  the  river, 
he'll  swing  his  bait  where  he  wants  it  with  his  pole, 
like  he  always  does,  and  whin  the  Bass  strikes  he'll 
give  it  the  extra  fifteen  feet  more  line  he  said  he 
needed,  and  thin  he'll  have  a  pole  and  line  with  which 
he  can  land  it." 

"  Not  on  your  life  he  won't !  "  said  Jimmy. 

He  opened  the  back  door  and  stepped  out  just  as 
Dannie  raised  the  pole  again. 

"  Hey,  you !  Quit  raisin'  Cain  out  there  1  " 
yelled  Jimmy.  "  I  want  to  get  some  sleep." 

Across  the  night,  tinged  neither  with  chagrin  nor 
rancor,  boomed  the  big  voice  of  Dannie. 

"  Believe  I  have  my  extra  line  fixed  so  it  works  all 
right,"  he  said.  "  Awful  sorry  if  I  waked  you. 
Thought  I  was  quiet." 

"How  much  did  you  make  off  that?"  inquired 
Mary. 

"  Two  points,"  answered  Jimmy.  "  Found  out 
that  Dannie  ain't  sore  at  me  any  longer  and  that  you 


are." 


Next  morning  was  no  sort  of  angler's  weather,  but 
the  afternoon  gave  promise  of  being  good  fishing  by 

179 


AT   THE    FOOT   OF   THE    RAINBOW 

the  morrow.  Dannie  worked  about  the  farms,  pre 
paring  for  winter ;  Jimmy  worked  with  him  until  mid- 
afternoon,  then  he  hailed  a  boy  passing,  and  they 
went  away  together.  At  supper  time  Jimmy  had  not 
returned.  Mary  came  to  where  Dannie  worked. 

"  Where's  Jimmy?  "  she  asked. 

"  I  dinna  know,"  said  Dannie.  "  He  went  away 
a  while  ago  with  some  boy,  I  didna  notice  who.11 

"  And  he  didn't  tell  you  where  he  was  going?  " 

"  No." 

"  And  he  didn't  take  either  of  his  fish  poles?  " 

"  No." 

Mary's  lips  thinned  to  a  mere  line.  "  Then  it's 
Casey's,"  she  said,  and  turned  away. 

Dannie  was  silent.     Presently  Mary  came  back. 

"  If  Jimmy  don't  come  till  morning,"  she  asked, 
"  or  comes  in  shape  that  he  can't  fish,  will  you  go 
without  him?  " 

"  To-morrow  was  the  day  we  agreed  on,'''  answered 
Dannie. 

"  Will  you  go  without  him  ?  "  persisted  Mary. 

"What  would  he  do  if  it  were  me?"  asked 
Dannie. 

"  When  have  you  iver  done  to  Jimmy  Malone 
what  he  would  do  if  he  were  you  ?  " 

180 


WHEN  THE  BLACK  BASS  STRUCK 

"  Is  there  any  reason  why  ye  na  want  me  to  land 
the  Black  Bass,  Mary?" 

"  There  is  a  particular  reason  why  I  don't  want 
your  living  with  Jimmy  to  make  you  like  him," 
answered  Mary.  "  My  timper  is  being  ruined,  and 
I  can  see  where  it's  beginning  to  show  on  you.  What- 
iver  you  do,  don't  do  what  he  would." 

"  Dinna  be  hard  on  him,  Mary.  He  doesna 
think,"  urged  Dannie. 

"  You  niver  said  truer  words.  He  don't  think. 
He  niver  thought  about  anybody  in  his  life  except 
himself,  and  he  niver  will." 

"Maybe  he  didna  go  to  town!" 

"  Maybe  the  sun  won't  rise  in  the  morning,  and 
it  will  always  be  dark  after  this  1  Come  in  and  get 
your  supper." 

"  I'd  best  pick  up  something  to  eat  at  home,"  said 
Dannie. 

"  I  have  some  good  food  cooked,  and  it's  a  pity  to 
be  throwin'  it  away.  What's  the  use  ?  You've  done 
a  long  day's  work,  more  for  us  than  yoursilf,  as 
usual ;  come  along  and  get  your  supper." 

Dannie  went,  and  as  he  was  washing  at  the  back 
door,  Jimmy  came  through  the  barn,  and  up  the 
walk.  He  was  fresh,  and  in  fine  spirits,  and  wher- 

1*1 


AT   THE    FOOT   OF   THE    RAINBOW 

ever  he  had  been,  it  was  a  sure  thing  that  it  was 
nowhere  near  Casey's. 

"Where  have  you  been?"  asked  Mary  wonder- 
ingly. 

"  Robbin'  graves,"  answered  Jimmy  promptly. 
"  I  needed  a  few  stiffs  in  me  business  so  I  just  went  out 
to  Five  Mile  and  got  them." 

44  What  are  ye  going  to  do  with  them,  Jimmy?  * 
chuckled  Dannie. 

"  Use  thim  for  Bass  bait  I  Now  rattle,  old 
snake !  "  replied  Jimmy. 

After  supper  Dannie  went  to  the  barn  for  the 
shovel  to  dig  worms  for  bait,  and  noticed  that 
Jimmy's  rubber  waders  hanging  on  the  wall  were 
covered  almost  to  the  top  with  fresh  mud  and  water 
stains,  and  Dannie's  wonder  grew. 

Early  the  next  morning  they  started  for  the  river. 
As  usual  Jimmy  led  the  way.  He  proudly  carried  his 
new  rod.  Dannie  followed  with  a  basket  of  lunch 
Mary  had  insisted  on  packing,  his  big  cane  pole,  a 
can  of  worms,  and  a  shovel,  in  case  they  ran  out  of 
bait. 

Dannie  had  recovered  his  temper,  and  was  just 
great-hearted,  big  Dannie  again.  He  talked  about 
the  south  wind,  and  shivered  with  the  frost,  and 


WHttIS  THE  BLACK  BASS  STRUCK 

listened  for  the  splash  of  the  Bass.  Jimmy  had  little 
to  say.  He  seemed  to  be  thinking  deeply.  No 
doubt  he  felt  in  his  soul  that  they  should  settle  the 
question  of  who  landed  the  Bass  with  the  same  rods 
they  had  used  when  the  contest  was  proposed,  and 
that  was  not  all. 

When  they  came  to  the  temporary  bridge,  Jimmy 
started  across  it,  and  Dannie  called  to  him  to  wait, 
he  was  forgetting  his  worms. 

"  I  don't  want  any  worms,"  answered  Jimmy 
briefly.  He  walked  on.  Dannie  stood  staring  after 
him,  for  he  did  not  understand  that.  Then  he  went 
slowly  to  his  side  of  the  river,  and  deposited  his  load 
under  a  tree  where  it  would  be  out  of  the  way. 

He  lay  down  his  pole,  took  a  rude  wooden  spool 
of  heavy  fish  cord  from  his  pocket,  and  passed  the 
line  through  the  loop  next  the  handle  and  so  on  the 
length  of  the  rod  to  the  point.  Then  he  wired  on  a 
sharp  bass  hook,  and  wound  the  wire  far  up  the 
doubled  line.  As  he  worked,  he  kept  an  eye  on 
Jimmy.  He  was  doing  practically  the  same  thing 
But  just  as  Dannie  had  fastened  on  a  light  lead  tc 
carry  his  line,  a  souse  in  the  river  opposite  attractea 
his  attention.  Jimmy  hauled  from  the  water  a  min 
now  bucket,  and  opening  it,  took  out  a  live  minnow, 

183 


AT   THE    FOOT   OF   THE    RAINBOW 

and  placed  it  on  his  hook.  "  Riddy,"  he  called,  as  he 
resank  the  bucket,  and  stood  on  the  bank,  holding  his 
line  in  his  fingers,  and  watching  the  minnow  play  at 
his  feet. 

The  fact  that  Dannie  was  a  Scotchman,  and  un 
usually  slow  and  patient,  did  not  alter  the  fact  that 
he  was  just  a  common  human  being.  The  lump  that 
rose  in  his  throat  was  so  big,  and  so  hard,  he  did  not 
try  to  swallow  it.  He  hurried  back  into  Rainbow 
Bottom.  The  first  log  he  came  across  he  kicked  over, 
and  grovelling  in  the  rotten  wood  and  loose  earth 
with  his  hands,  he  brought  up  a  half  dozen  bluish- 
white  grubs.  He  tore  up  the  ground  for  the  length 
of  the  log,  and  then  he  went  fo  others,  cramming  the 
worms  and  dirt  with  them  into  his  pockets.  When  he 
had  enough,  he  went  back,  and  with  extreme  care 
placed  three  of  them  on  his  hook.  He  tried  to  see 
how  Jimmy  was  going  to  fish,  but  he  could  not  tell. 
So  Dannie  decided  that  he  would  cast  in  the  morning, 
fish  deep  at  noon,  and  cast  again  toward  evening. 

He  rose,  turned  to  the  river,  and  lifted  his  rod. 
As  he  stood  looking  over  the  channel,  and  the  pool 
where  the  Bass  homed,  the  Kingfisher  came  rattling 
down  the  river,  and  as  if  in  answer  to  its  cry,  the 
Black  B^ss  gave  a  leap,  that  sent  the  water  flying. 

184 


WHEN  THE  BLACK  BASS  STRUCK 

"  Ready!  "  cried  Dannie,  swinging  his  pole  over 
the  water. 

As  the  word  left  his  lips,  "  whizz,"  Jimmy's  min 
now  landed  in  the  middle  of  the  circles  widening  ! 
about  the  rise  of  the  Bass.  There  was  a  rush  and 
a  snap,  and  Dannie  saw  the  jaws  of  the  big  fellow 
close  within  an  inch  of  the  minnow,  and  he  swam 
after  it  for  a  yard,  as  Jimmy  slowly  reeled  in.  Dan 
nie  waited  a  second,  and  then  softly  dropped  his  grubs 
on  the  water  just  before  where  he  figured  the  Bass 
would  be.  He  could  hear  Jimmy  smothering  oaths. 
Dannie  said  something  himself  as  his  untouched  bait 
neared  the  bank.  He  lifted  it,  swung  it  out,  and 
slowly  trailed  it  in  again.  "  Spat !  "  came  Jimmy's 
minnow  almost  at  his  feet,  and  again  the  Bass  leaped 
for  it.  Again  he  missed.  As  the  minnow  reeled 
away  the  second  time,  Dannie  swung  his  grubs  higher, 
and  struck  the  water  "  Spat,"  as  the  minnow  had 
done.  "  Snap,"  went  the  Bass.  One  instant  the 
line  strained,  the  next  the  hook  came  up  stripped  clean 
of  bait. 

Then  Dannie  and  Jimmy  really  went  at  it,  and  they 
were  strangers.  Not  a  word  of  friendly  banter 
crossed  the  river.  They  cast  until  the  Bass  grew  sus 
picious,  and  would  not  rise  to  the  bait;  then  they 


AT   THE    FOOT   OF   THE    RAINBOW 

fished  deep.  Then  they  cast  again.  If  Jimmy  fell 
into  trouble  with  his  reel,  Dannie  had  the  honesty 
to  stop  fishing  until  it  worked  again,  but  he  spent  the 
time  burrowing  for  grubs  until  his  hands  resembled 
the  claws  of  an  animal.  Sometimes  they  sat,  and 
still-fished.  Sometimes,  they  warily  slipped  along  the 
bank,  trailing  bait  a  few  inches  under  water.  Then 
they  would  cast  and  skitter  by  turns. 

The  Kingfisher  struck  his  stump,  and  tilted  on 
again.  His  mate,  and  their  family  of  six  followed 
in  his  lead,  so  that  their  rattle  was  almost  constant. 
A  fussy  little  red-eyed  vireo  asked  questions,  first  of 
Jimmy,  and  then  crossing  the  river  besieged  Dannie, 
but  neither  of  the  stern-faced  fishermen  paid  it  any 
heed.  The  blackbirds  swung  on  the  rushes,  and 
talked  over  the  season.  As  always,  a  few  crows  cawed 
above  the  deep  woods,  and  the  chewinks  threshed 
about  among  the  dry  leaves.  A  band  of  larks  were 
gathering  for  migration,  and  the  frosty  air  was 
vibrant  with  their  calls  to  each  other. 

Killdeers  were  circling  above  them  in  flocks.  A 
half  dozen  robins  gathered  over  a  wild  grapevine, 
and  chirped  cheerfully,  as  they  pecked  at  the  frosted 
fruit.  At  times,  the  pointed  nose  of  a  muskrat  wove 
its  way  across  the  river,  leaving  a  shining  ripple  in 

186 


WHEN  THE  BLACK  BASS  STRUCK 

its  wake.  In  the  deep  woods  squirrels  barked  and 
chattered.  Frost-loosened  crimson  leaves  came  whirl 
ing  down,  settling  in  a  bright  blanket  that  covered 
the  water  several  feet  from  the  bank,  and  unfortunate 
bees  that  had  fallen  into  the  river  struggled  frantic 
ally  to  gain  a  footing  on  them.  Water  beetles  shot 
over  the  surface  in  small  shining  parties,  and  schools 
of  tiny  minnows  played  along  the  banks.  Once  a 
black  ant  assassinated  an  enemy  on  Dannie's  shoe,  by 
creeping  up  behind  it  and  puncturing  its  abdomen. 

Noon  came,  and  neither  of  the  fishermen  spoke  or 
moved  from  their  work.  The  lunch  Mary  had  pre 
pared  with  such  care  they  had  forgotten.  A  little 
after  noon,  Dannie  got  another  strike,  deep  fishing* 
Mid-afternoon  found  them  still  even,  and  patiently 
fishing.  Then  it  was  not  so  long  until  supper  time, 
and  the  air  was  steadily  growing  colder.  The  south 
wind  had  veered  to  the  west,  and  signs  of  a  black 
frost  were  in  the  air.  About  this  time  the  larks  arose 
as  with  one  accord,  and  with  a  whirr  of  wings  that 
proved  how  large  the  flock  was,  they  sailed  straight 
south. 

Jimmy  hauled  his  minnow  bucket  from  the  rivei* 
poured  the  water  from  it,  and  picked  his  last  minnow, 
a  dead  one,  from  the  grass.  Dannie  was  watching 


AT   THE    FOOT   OF   THE    RAINBOW 

him,  and  rightly  guessed  that  he  would  fish  deep.  So 
Dannie  scooped  the  remaining  dirt  from  his  pockets, 
and  found  three  grubs.  He  placed  them  on  his  hook, 
lightened  his  sinker,  and  prepared  to  skitter  once 
more. 

Jimmy  dropped  his  minnow  beside  the  Kingfisher 
stump,  and  let  it  sink.  Dannie  hit  the  water  at  the 
base  of  the  stump,  where  it  had  not  been  disturbed 
for  a  long  time,  a  sharp  "  Spat,"  with  his  worms. 
Something  seized  his  bait,  and  was  gone.  Dannie 
planted  his  feet  firmly,  squared  his  jaws,  gripped  his 
rod,  and  loosened  his  line.  As  his  eye  followed  it, 
he  saw  to  his  amazement  that  Jimmy's  line  was  sail 
ing  off  down  the  river  beside  his,  and  heard  the  reel 
singing. 

Dannie  was  soon  close  to  the  end  of  his  line.  He 
threw  his  weight  into  a  jerk  enough  to  have  torn  the 
head  from  a  fish,  and  down  the  river  the  Black  Bass 
leaped  clear  of  the  water,  doubled,  and  with  a  mighty 
shake  tried  to  throw  the  hook  from  his  mouth. 

"Got  him  fast,  by  God!"  screamed  Jimmy  in 
triumph. 

Straight  toward  them  rushed  the  fish.  Jimmy 
reeled  wildly;  Dannie  gathered  in  his  line  by  yard 
lengths,  and  grasped  it  with  the  hand  that  held  the 

188 


"  The  B 


WHEN  THE  BLACK  BASS  STRUCK 

rod.  Near  them  the  Bass  leaped  again,  and  sped 
back  down  the  river.  Jimmy's  reel  sang,  and  Dan 
nie's  line  jerked  through  his  fingers.  Back  came  the 
fish.  Again  Dannie  gathered  in  line,  and  Jimmy 
reeled  frantically.  Then  Dannie,  relying  on  the 
strength  of  his  line  thought  he  could  land  the  fish,  and 
steadily  drew  it  toward  him.  Jimmy's  reel  began  to 
sing  louder,  and  his  line  followed  Dannie's.  In 
stantly  Jimmy  went  wild. 

"Stop  pullin'  me  little  silk  thrid!"  he  yelled. 
"  I've  got  the  Black  Bass  hooked  fast  as  a  rock,  and 
your  domn  clothes  line  is  sa»vin'  across  me.  Cut 
there !  Cut  that  domn  rope !  Quick !  " 

"  He*s  mine,  and  I'll  land  him !  "  roared  Dannie. 
"  Cut  yoursel',  and  let  me  get  my  fish !  " 

So  it  happened,  that  when  Mary  Malone,  tired  of 
waiting  for  the  boys  to  come,  and  anxious  as  to  the 
day's  outcome,  slipped  down  to  the  Wabash  to  see 
what  they  were  doing,  she  heard  sounds  that  almost 
paralyzed  her.  Shaking  with  fear,  she  ran  toward 
the  river,  and  paused  at  a  little  thicket  behind  Dannie. 

Jimmy  danced  and  raged  on  the  opposite  bank. 
"  Cut!  "  he  yelled.  "  Cut  that  domn  cable,  and  let 
me  Bass  loose !  Cut  your  line,  I  say  I  " 

Dannie  stood  with  his  feet  planted  wide  apart,  and 
189 


AT  THE    FOOT   OF   THE    RAINBOW 

his  jaws  set.  He  drew  his  line  steadily  toward  him, 
and  Jimmy's  followed.  "  Ye  see !  "  exulted  Dannie. 
"  Ye're  across  me.  The  Bass  is  mine !  Reel  out  your 
line  till  I  land  him,  if  ye  dinna  want  it  broken." 

"  If  you  don't  cut  your  domn  line,  I  will!  "  raved 
Jimmy. 

"  Cut  nothin' !  "  cried  Dannie.  "  Let's  see  ye 
try  to  touch  ?t !  " 

Into  the  river  went  Jimmy;  splash  went  Dannie 
from  his  bank.  He  was  nearer  the  tangled  lines, 
but  the  water  was  deepest  on  his  side,  and  the  mud 
of  the  bed  held  his  feet.  Jimmy  reached  the  crossed 
lines,  knife  in  hand,  by  the  time  Dannie  was  there. 

"  Will  you  cut?  "  cried  Jimmy. 

"  Na  1  "  bellowed  Dannie.  "  I've  give  up  every 
damn  thing  to  ye  all  my  life,  but  Til  no  give  up  the 
Black  Bass.  He's  mine,  and  I'll  land  him !  " 

Jimmy  made  a  lunge  for  the  lines.  Dannie  swung 
his  pole  backward  drawing  them  his  way.  Jimmy 
slashed  again.  Dannie  dropped  his  pole,  and  with 
a  sweep,  caught  the  twisted  lines  in  his  fingers. 

"Noo,  let's  see  ye  cut  my  line!  Babby!"  he 
jeered. 

Jimmy's  fist  flew  straight,  and  the  blood  streamed 
irom  Dannie's  nose.  Dannie  dropped  the  lines,  and 

190 


WHEN  THE  BLACK  BASS  STRUCK 

straightened.    "  You—"  he  panted.    "  You—"  And 
no  other  words  came. 

If  Jimmy  had  been  possessed  of  any  small  particle 
of  reason,  he  lost  it  at  the  sight  of  blood  on  Dannie's 
face. 

"  You're  a  domn  fish  thief !  "  he  screamed 

"  Ye  lie !  "  breathed  Dannie,  but  his  hand  diet  not 
lift. 

"  You  are  a  coward !  You're  afraid  to  strike  like 
a  man  I  Hit  me  1  You  don't  dare  hit  me  1  " 

"  Ye  lie !  "  repeated  Dannie. 

"  You're  a  dog  I  "  panted  Jimmy.  "  I've  used  you 
to  wait  on  me  all  me  life!  " 

"  That's  the  God's  truth  1  "  cried  Dannie.  But  he 
made  no  movement  to  strike.  Jimmy  leaned  for 
ward  with  a  distorted,  insane  face. 

'  That  time  you  sint  me  to  Mary  for  you,  I  lied 
to  her,  and  married  her  meself.  Now,  will  you  fight 
like  a  man?  " 

Dannie  made  a  spring,  and  Jimmy  crumpled  up  in 
his  grasp. 

"  Noo,  I  will  choke  the  miserable  tongue  out  of 
your  heid,  and  twist  the  heid  off  your  body,  and 
tear  the  body  to  mince-meat,"  raved  Dannie,  and  he 
promptly  began  the  job. 

191 


AT   THE    FOOT   OF   TH£    RAINBOW 

With  one  awful  effort  Jimmy  tore  the  gripping 
hands  from  his  throat  a  little.  "  Lie  1  "  he  gasped. 
"It's  all  a  lie!" 

"It's  the  truth!  Before  God  it's  the  truth  1" 
Mary  Malone  tried  to  scream  behind  them.  "  It's  the 
truth!  It's  the  truth!  "  And  her  ears  told  her  that 
she  was  making  no  sound  as  with  dry  lips  she  mouthed 
it  over  and  over.  And  then  she  fainted,  and  sank 
down  in  the  bushes. 

Dannie's  hands  relaxed  a  little,  he  lifted  the  weight 
of  Jimmy's  body  by  his  throat,  and  set  him  on  his 
feet.  "  I'll  give  ye  juist  ane  chance,"  he  said. 
"Is  that  the  truth?" 

Jimmy's  awful  eyes  were  bulging  from  his  head, 
his  hands  were  clawing  at  Dannie's  on  his  throat,  and 
his  swollen  lips  repeated  it  over  and  over  as  breath 
came,  "It's  a  lie!  It's  a  lie!" 

"I  think  so  myself,"  said  Dannie.  "  Ye  never 
would  have  dared.  Ye'd  have  known  that  I'd  find  out 
some  day,  and  on  that  day,  I'd  kill  ye  as  I  would  a 
copperhead." 

"  A  lie !  "  panted  Jimmy. 

"  Then  why  did  ye  tell  it?  "  And  Dannie's  fingers 
threatened  to  renew  their  grip. 

M I  thought  if  I  could  make  yem  sfcrike  back,'* 
192 


WHEN  THE  BLACK  BASS  STRUCK 

gasped  Jimmy,  "  my  hittin'  you  wouldn't  same  so 
bad." 

Then  Dannie's  hands  relaxed.  "Oh,  Jimmy! 
Jimmy !  "  he  cried.  "  Was  there  ever  any  other  mon 
like  ye?" 

Then  he  remembered  the  cause  of  their  trouble. 

"  But,  I'm  everlastingly  damned,"  Dannie  went  on, 
"  if  I'll  gi'e  up  the  Black  Bass  to  ye,  unless  it's  on 
your  line.  Get  yourself  up  there  on  your  bank !  " 

The  shove  he  gave  Jimmy  almost  upset  him,  and 
Jimmy  waded  back,  and  as  he  climbed  the  bank,  Dan 
nie  was  behind  him.  After  him  he  dragged  a  tangled 
mass  of  lines  and  poles,  and  at  the  last  up  the  bank, 
and  on  the  grass,  two  big  fish;  one,  the  great  Black 
Bass  of  Horseshoe  Bend;  and  the  other  nearly  as 
large,  a  channel  catfish;  undoubtedly,  one  of  those 
which  had  escaped  into  the  Wabash  in  an  overflow 
of  the  Celina  reservoir  that  spring. 

"  Noo,  I'll  cut,"  said  Dannie.  "  Keep  your  eye 
on  me  sharp.  See  me  cut  my  line  at  the  end  o'  my 
pole."  He  snipped  the  line  in  two.  "  Noo  watch," 
he  cautioned,  "  I  dinna  want  contradeection  about 
this!" 

He  picked  up  the  Bass,  and  taking  the  line  by  which 
it  was  fast  at  its  mouth,  he  slowly  drew  k  through 

193 


AT   THE    FOOT   OF   THE    RAINBOW 

his  fingers.  The  wiry  silk  line  slipped  away,  and 
the  heavy  cord  whipped  out  free. 

"  Is  this  my  line?  "  asked  Dannie,  holding  it  up. 

Jimmy  nodded. 

"  Is  the  Black  Bass  my  fish?  Speak  up!  "  cried 
Dannie,  dangling  the  fish  from  the  line. 

"  It's  yours,"  admitted  Jimmy. 

;t  Then  I'll  be  damned  if  I  dinna  do  what  I  please 
wP  my  own !  "  cried  Dannie.  With  trembling  fingers 
he  extracted  the  hook,  and  dropped  it.  He  took  the 
gasping  big  fish  in  both  hands,  and  tested  its  weight. 
"Almost  seex,"  he  said.  "  Michty  near  seex!" 
And  he  tossed  the  Black  Bass  back  into  the  Wabash. 

Then  he  stooped,  and  gathered  up  his  pole  and 
line. 

With  one  foot  he  kicked  the  catfish,  the  tangled 
silk  line,  and  the  jointed  rod,  toward  Jimmy.  "  Take 
your  fish !  "  he  said.  He  turned  and  plunged  into  the 
river,  recrossed  it  as  he  came,  gathered  up  the  dinner 
pail  and  shovel,  passed  Mary  Malone,  a  tumbled 
heap  in  the  bushes,  and  started  toward  his  cabin. 

The  Black  Bass  struck  the  water  with  a  splash,  and 
sank  to  the  mud  of  the  bottom,  where  he  lay  joyfully 
soaking  his  dry  gills,  parched  tongue,  and  glazed 
eyes.  He  scooped  water  with  his  tail,  and  poured  it 

194 


WREN  THE  BLACK  BASS  STRUCK 

over  his  torn  jaw.  And  then  he  said  to  his  progeny 9 
"  Children,  let  this  be  a  warning  to  you.  Never  rise 
to  but  one  grub  at  a  time.  Three  is  too  good  to  be 
true!  There  is  always  a  stinger  in  their  midst." 
And  the  Black  Bass  ruefully  shook  his  sore  head  and 
scooped  more  water. 


195 


WHEN   JIMMY   MALONE   CAME   TO 
CONFESSION 


CHAPTER    IX 

WHEN  JIMMY  MALONE   CAME  TO   CONFESSION 

ANNIE  never  before  had  known 
such  anger  as  possessed  him  when 
he  trudged  homeward  across  Rain 
bow  Bottom.  His  brain  whirled 
in  a  tumult  of  conflicting  passions, 
and  his  heart  pained  worse  than 
his  rapidly  swelling  face.  In  one  instant  the  knowl 
edge  that  Jimmy  had  struck  him,  possessed  him  with 
a  desire  to  turn  back  and  do  murder.  In  the  next, 
a  sense  of  profound  scorn  for  the  cowardly  lie 
which  had  driven  him  to  the  rage  that  kills  encom 
passed  him,  and  then  in  a  surge  came  compassion 
for  Jimmy,  at  the  remembrance  of  the  excuse  he 
had  offered  for  saying  that  thing.  How  childish! 
But  how  like  Jimmy!  What  was  the  use  in  trying 

199 


AT   THE    FOOT   OF   THE    RAINBOW 

to  deal  with  him  as  if  he  were  a  man?  A  great 
spoiled,  selfish  baby  was  all  he  ever  would  be. 

The  fallen  leaves  rustled  about  Dannie's  feet.  The 
blackbirds  above  him  in  chattering  debate  discussed 
migration.  A  stiff  breeze  swept  the  fields,  topped  the 
embankment,  and  rushed  down  circling  about  Dan 
nie,  and  setting  his  teeth  chattering,  for  he  was  almost 
as  wet  as  if  he  had  been  completely  immersed.  As 
the  chill  struck  in,  from  force  of  habit  he  thought  of 
Jimmy.  If  he  was  ever  going  to  learn  how  to  take 
care  of  himself,  a  man  past  thirty-five  should  know. 
Would  he  come  home  and  put  on  dry  clothing?  But 
when  had  Jimmy  taken  care  of  himself?  Dannie  felt 
that  he  should  go  back,  bring  him  home,  and  make 
him  dress  quickly. 

A  sharp  pain  shot  across  Dannie's  swollen  face. 
His  lips  shut  firmly.  No !  Jimmy  had  struck  him. 
And  Jimmy  was  in  the  wrong.  The  fish  was  his, 
and  he  had  a  right  to  it.  No  man  living  would  have 
given  it  up  to  Jimmy,  after  he  had  changed  poles. 
And  slipped  away  with  a  boy  and  gotten  those  min 
nows,  too !  And  wouldn't  offer  him  even  one.  Much 
good  they  had  done  him.  Caught  a  catfish  on  a  dead 
one!  Wonder  if  he  would  take  the  catfish  to  town 
and  have  its  picture  taken!  Mighty  fine  fish,  too, 

200 


WHEN  JIMMY   CAME  TO   CONFESSION 

that  channel  cat!  If  it  hadn't  been  for  the  Black 
Bass,  they  would  have  wondered  and  exclaimed  over 
it,  and  carefully  weighed  it,  and  commented  on  the 
gamy  fight  it  made.  Just  the  same  he  was  glad, 
that  he  landed  the  Bass.  And  he  got  it  fairly. 
If  Jimmy's  old  catfish  mixed  up  with  his  line,  he 
could  not  help  that.  He  baited,  hooked,  played,  and 
landed  the  Bass  all  right,  and  without  any  minnows 
either. 

When  he  reached  the  top  of  the  hill  he  realized  that 
he  was  going  to  look  back.  In  spite  of  Jimmy's  selfish 
ness,  in  spite  of  the  blow,  in  spite  of  the  ugly  lie, 
Jimmy  had  been  his  lifelong  partner,  and  his  only 
friend,  and  stiffen  his  neck  as  he  would,  Dannie  felt 
his  head  turning.  He  deliberately  swung  his  fish 
pole  into  the  bushes,  and  when  it  caught,  as  he  knew 
it  would,  he  set  down  his  load,  and  turned  as  if  to 
release  it.  Not  a  sight  of  Jimmy  anywhere !  Dannie 
started  on. 

;<  We  are  after  you,  Jimmy  Malone !  " 
A  thin,  little,  wiry  thread  of  a  cry,  that  seemed  to 
come  twisting  as  if  wrung  from  the  chill  air  about  him, 
whispered  in  his  ear,  and  Dannie  jumped,  dropped  his 
load,  and  ran  for  the  river.  He  couldn't  see  a  sign 
of  Jimmy.  He  hurried  over  the  shaky  littk  bridge 

201 


AT   THE    FOOT   OF   THE    RAINBOW 

they  had  built.  The  catfish  lay  gasping  on  the  grass, 
the  case  and  jointed  rod  lay  on  a  log,  but  Jimmy  was 
gone. 

Dannie  gave  the  catfish  a  shove  that  sent  it  well  into 
the  river,  and  ran  for  the  shoals  at  the  lower  curve 
of  Horseshoe  Bend.  The  tracks  of  Jimmy's  cross 
ing  were  plain,  and  after  him  hurried  Dannie.  He 
ran  up  the  hill,  and  as  he  reached  the  top  he  saw 
Jimmy  climb  on  a  wagon  out  on  the  road.  Dannie 
called,  but  the  farmer  touched  up  his  horses  and 
trotted  away  without  hearing  him.  "  The  fool!  To 
ride!  "  thought  Dannie.  "  Noo  he  will  chill  to  the 
bone!" 

Dannie  cut  across  the  fields  to  the  lane  and  gath 
ered  up  his  load.  With  the  knowledge  that  Jimmy 
had  started  for  town  came  the  thought  of  Mary. 
What  was  he  going  to  say  to  her  ?  He  would  have 
to  make  a  clean  breast  of  it,  and  he  did  not  like  the 
showing.  In  fact,  he  simply  could  not  make  a  clean 
breast  of  it.  Tell  her?  He  could  not  tell  her.  He 
would  lie  to  her  once  more,  this  one  time  for  himself. 
He  would  tell  her  he  fell  in  the  river  to  account  for 
his  wet  clothing  and  bruised  face,  and  wait  until 
Jimmy  came  home  and  see  what  he  told  her. 

He  srait  to  the  cabin  and  tapped  at  the  door; 

202 


WHEN  JIMMY   CAME  TO  CONFESSION 

there  was  no  answer,  so  he  opened  it  and  set  the  lunch 
basket  inside.  Then  he  hurried  home,  built  a  fire, 
bathed,  and  put  on  dry  clothing.  He  wondered  where 
Mary  was.  He  was  ravenously  hungry  now.  He  did 
all  the  evening  work,  and  as  she  still  did  not  come, 
he  concluded  that  she  had  gone  to  town,  and  that 
Jimmy  knew  she  was  there.  Of  course,  that  was  it ! 
Jimmy  could  get  dry  clothing  of  his  brother-in-law. 
To  be  sure,  Mary  had  gone  to  town.  That  was  why 
Jimmy  went. 

And  he  was  right.  Mary  had  gone  to  town. 
When  sense  slowly  returned  to  her  she  sat  up  in  rfie 
bushes  and  stared  about  her.  Then  she  arose  and 
looked  toward  the  river.  The  men  were  gone. 
Mary  guessed  the  situation  rightly.  They  were  too 
much  of  river  men  to  drown  in  a  few  feet  of  water; 
they  scarcely  would  kill  each  other.  They  had  fought, 
and  Dannie  had  gone  home,  and  Jimmy  to  the  conso 
lation  of  Casey's.  Where  should  she  go?  Mary 
Malone's  lips  set  in  a  firm  line. 

"  It's  the  truth !  It's  the  truth !  "  she  panted  over 
and  over,  and  now  that  there  was  no  one  to  hear, 
she  found  that  she  could  say  it  quite  plainly.  As  the 
sense  of  her  outraged  womanhood  swept  over  her 
she  grew  almost  delirious.  "  I  hope  you  killed  him, 

203 


AT   THE    FOOT   OF   THE    RAINBOW 

Dannie  Micnoun,"  she  raved.  "  I  hope  you  killed 
him,  for  if  you  didn't,  I  will.  Oh!  Oh!  " 

She  was  almost  suffocating  with  rage.  The  only 
thing  clear  to  her  was  that  she  never  again  would 
live  an  hour  with  Jimmy  Malone.  He  might  have 
gone  home.  Probably  he  did  go  for  dry  clothing. 
She  would  go  to  her  sister.  She  hurried  across  the 
bottom,  with  wavering  knees  she  climbed  the  embank 
ment,  then  skirting  the  fields,  she  half  walked,  half 
ran  to  the  village,  and  selecting  back  streets  and 
alleys,  tumbled,  half  distracted,  into  the  home  of  her 
sister. 

"  Holy  Vargin !  "  screamed  Katy  Dolan.  "  What- 
iver  do  be  ailin'  you,  Mary  Malone?  " 

"  Jimmy  1     Jimmy !  "  sobbed  the  shivering  Mary. 

"I  knew  it!  I  knew  it!  IVe  ixpicted  it  for 
years !  "  cried  Katy. 

"  They've  had  a  fight " 

"  Just  what  I  looked  for !  I  always  told  you  they 
were  too  thick  to  last !  " 

"  And  Jimmy  told  Dannie  he'd  lied  to  me  and 
married  me  himsilf " 

"  He  did !    I  saw  him  do  it!  "  screamed  Katy. 

"  And  Dannie  tried  to  kill  him " 

"  I  hope  to  Hivin  he  got  it  done,  for  if  any  man 
204 


WHEN  JIMMY   CAME  TO  CONFESSION 

iver  naded  killin' !  A  carpse  named  Jimmy  Malone 
would  a  looked  good  to  me  any  time  these  fiftane 
years.  I  always  said " 

"  And  he  took  it  back " 

"  Just  like  the  rid  divil !  I  knew  he'd  do  it !  And 
of  course  that  mutton-head  of  a  Dannie  Micnoun 
belaved  him,  whativer  he  said " 

"  Of  course  he  did!" 

"  I  knew  it!     Didn't  I  say  so  first?  " 

"  And  I  tried  to  scrame  and  me  tongue  stuck " 

"  Sure !  You  poor  lamb !  My  tongue  always 
sticks !  Just  what  I  ixpicted  1  " 

<c  And  me  head  just  went  round  and  I  keeled  over 
in  the  bushes " 

"  I've  told  Dolan  a  thousand  times !  I  knew  it ! 
It's  vio  news  to  me !  " 

"  And  whin  I  came  to,  they  were  gone,  and  I  don't 
know  where,  and  I  don't  care!  But  I  won't  go  back! 
I  won't  go  back!  I'll  not  live  with  him  another  day. 
Oh,  Raty!  Think  ho  AT  you'd  feel  if  some  one  had 
siparattfd  you  and  Dolan  before  you'd  iver  been 
togither!  " 

Katie  Dolan  gathered  her  sister  into  her  arms. 

*  You  pixDr  lamb,"  she  wailed.     "  I've  known  ivery 

word  of  this  for  fiftane  years,  and  if  I'd  had  the 

205 


AT   THE    FOOT   OF   THE    RAINBOW 

laste  idea  'twas  so,  I'd  a  busted  Jimmy  Malone  to 
smithereens  before  it  iver  happened !  " 

"I  won't  go  back!  I  won't  go  back!"  raved 
Mary. 

"  I  guess  you  won't  go  back,"  cried  Katy,  patting 
every  available  spot  on  Mary,  or  making  dashes  at 
her  own  eyes  to  stop  the  flow  of  tears.  "  I  guess  you 
won't  go  back!  You'll  stay  right  here  with  me. 
I've  always  wanted  you !  I  always  said  I'd  love  to 
have  you !  I've  told  thim  from  the  start  there  was 
something  wrong  out  there!  I've  ixpicted  you  ivry 
day  for  years,  and  I  niver  was  so  surprised  in  all  me 
life  as  whin  you  came !  Now,  don't  you  shed  another 
tear.  The  Lord  knows  this  is  enough,  for  anybody. 
None  at  all  would  be  too  many  for  Jimmy  Malone. 
You  get  right  into  bid,  and  I'll  make  you  a  cup  of 
rid-pipper  tay  to  take  the  chill  out  of  you.  And 
if  Jimmy  Malone  comes  around  this  house  I'll  lav 
'him  out  with  the  poker,  and  if  Dannie  Micnoun 
comes  saft-saddering  after  him  I'll  stritch  him  out 
too;  yis,  and  if  Dolan's  got  anything  to  say,  he  can 
take  his  midicine  like  the  rist.  The  min  are  all  of  a 
pace  anyhow!  I've  always  said  it!  If  I  wouldn't 
like  to  get  me  fingers  on  that  haythen;  never  goin' 
to  confission,  spindin'  ivrything  on  himself  you  naded 

206 


WHEN  JIMMY  CAME  TO  CONFESSION 

for  dacent  livin'I  Lit  him  come!  Just  lit  him 
come !  " 

Thus  forestalled  with  knowledge,  and  overwhelmed 
with  kindness,  Mary  Malone  cuddled  up  in  bed  and 
sobbed  herself  to  sleep,  and  Katy  Dolan  assured  her, 
as  long  as  she  was  conscious,  that  she  always  had 
known  it,  and  if  Jimmy  Malone  came  near,  she  had 
the  poker  ready, 

Dannie  did  the  evening  work.  When  he  milked 
he  drank  most  of  it,  but  that  only  made  him  hungrier, 
so  he  ate  the  lunch  he  had  brought  back  from  the 
river,  as  he  sat  before  a  roaring  fire.  His  heart 
warmed  with  his  body.  Irresponsible  Jimmy  always 
had  aroused  something  of  the  paternal  instinct  in  Dan« 
nie.  Some  one  had  to  be  responsible,  so  Dannie  had 
been.  Some  way  he  felt  responsible  now.  With 
another  man  like  himself,  it  would  have  been  man  to 
man,  but  he  always  had  spoiled  Jimmy ;  now  who  was 
to  blame  that  he  was  spoiled? 

Dannie  was  very  tired,  his  face  throbbed  and  ached 
painfully,  and  it  was  a  sight  to  see.  His  bed  never 
had  looked  so  inviting,  and  never  had  the  chance  to 
sleep  been  further  away.  With  a  sigh,  he  buttoned 
his  coat,  twisted  an  old  scarf  around  his  neck,  and 
started  for  the  barn.  There  was  going  to  be  a  black 

207 


AT   THE    FOOT    OF   THE    RAINBOW 

frost.  The  cold  seemed  to  pierce  him.  He  hitched  to 
the  single  buggy,  and  drove  to  town,,  He  went  to 
Casey's,  and  asked  for  Jimmy. 

"  He  isn't  here,"  said  Casey. 

"  Has  he  been  here?  "  asked  Dannie. 

Casey  hesitated,  and  then  blurted  out,  "  He  said 
you  wasn't  his  keeper,  and  if  you  came  after  him,  to 
tell  you  to  go  to  Hell." 

Then  Dannie  was  sure  that  Jimmy  was  in  the  back 
room,  drying  his  clothing.  So  he  drove  to  Mrs* 
Dolan's,  and  asked  if  Mary  were  there  for  the  night, 
Mrs.  Dolan  said  she  was,  and  she  was  going  to  stay, 
and  he  might  tell  Jimmy  Malone  that  he  need  not 
come  near  them,  unless  he  wanted  his  head  laid  open* 
She  shut  the  door  forcibly. 

Dannie  waited  until  Casey  closed  at  eleven,  and  to 
his  astonishment  Jimmy  was  not  among  the  men  who 
came  out.  That  meant  that  he  had  drank  lightly 
after  all,  slipped  from  the  back  door,  and  gone  home. 
And  yet,  would  he  do  it,  after  whftt  he  had  said 
about  being  afraid?  If  he  had  not  drank  heavily, 
he  would  not  go  into  the  night  alonej  when  he  had 
been  afraid  in  the  daytime.  Dannie  climbed  from 
the  buggy  once  more,  and  patiently  searched  the  alley 
and  the  street  leading  to  the  footpath  across  farm&c 


WHEN  JIMMY  CAME  TO  CONFESSION 

No  Jimmy.  Then  Dannie  drove  home,  stabled  his 
horse,  and  tried  Jimmy's  back  door.  It  was  unlockede 
If  Jimmy  were  there,  he  probably  would  be  lying 
across  the  bed  in  his  clothing,  and  Dannie  knew  that 
Mary  was  in  town.  He  made  a  light,  and  cautiously 
entered  the  sleeping  room,  intending  to  undress  and 
cover  Jimmy,  but  Jimmy  was  not  there. 

Dannie's  mouth  fell  open.  He  put  out  the  light, 
and  stood  on  the  back  steps.  The  frost  had  settled 
in  a  silver  sheen  over  the  roofs  of  the  barns  and  the 
sheds,  and  a  scum  of  ice  had  frozen  over  a  tub  of 
drippings  at  the  well.  Dannie  was  bitterly  cold.  He 
went  home,  and  hunted  out  his  winter  overcoat, 
lighted  his  lantern,  picked  up  a  heavy  cudgel  in  the 
corner,  and  started  to  town  on  foot  over  the  path  that 
lay  across  the  fields.  He  followed  it  to  Casey's  back 
door.  He  went  to  Mrs.  Dolan's  again,  but  every 
thing  was  black  and  silent  there.  There  had  been 
evening  trains.  He  thought  of  Jimmy's  frequent 
threat  to  go  away.  He  dismissed  that  thought 
grimly.  There  had  been  no  talk  of  going  away 
lately,  and  he  knew  that  Jimmy  had  little  money, 
Dannie  started  for  home,  and  for  a  rod  on  either  side 
he  searched  the  path.  As  he  came  to  the  back  of  the 
barns,  he  rated  himself  for  not  thinking  of  them  first, 

209 


AT   THE    FOOT   OF   THE    RAINBOW 

He  searched  both  of  them,  and  all  around  them,  and 
then  wholly  tired,  and  greatly  disgusted,  he  went  home 
and  to  bed.  He  decided  that  Jimmy  had  gone  to 
Mrs.  Dolan's  and  that  kindly  woman  had  relented 
and  taken  him  in.  Of  course  that  was  where  he  was. 

Dannie  was  up  early  in  the  morning.  He  wanted 
to  have  the  work  done  before  Mary  and  Jimmy  came 
home.  He  fed  the  stock,  milked,  built  a  fire,  and 
began  cleaning  the  stables.  As  he  wheeled  the  first 
barrow  of  manure  to  the  heap,  he  noticed  a  rooster 
giving  danger  signals  behind  the  straw-stack.  At  the 
second  load  it  was  still  there,  and  Dannie  went  to  see 
what  alarmed  it. 

Jimmy  lay  behind  the  stack,  where  he  had  fallen 
face  down,  and  as  Dannie  tried  to  lift  him  he  saw  that 
he  would  have  to  cut  him  loose,  for  he  had  frozen 
fast  in  the  muck  of  the  barnyard.  He  had  pitched 
forward  among  the  rough  cattle  and  horse  tracks 
and  fallen  within  a  few  feet  of  the  entrance  to  a 
deep  hollow  eaten  out  of  the  straw  by  the  cattle. 
Had  he  reached  that  shelter  he  would  have  been  warm 
enough  and  safe  for  the  night. 

Horrified,  Dannie  whipped  out  his  knife,  cut 
Jimmy's  clothing  loose  and  carried  him  to  his  bed.  He 
covered  him,  and  hitching  up  drove  at  top  speed  for 

210 


WHEN  JIMMY   CAME  TO   CONFESSION 

a  doctor.  He  sent  the  physician  ahead  and  then 
rushed  to  Mrs.  Dolan's.  She  saw  him  drive  up  and 
came  to  ,the  door. 

"  Send  Mary  home  and  ye  come  too,"  Dannie 
called  before  she  had  time  to  speak.  "  Jimmy  lay 
oot  all  last  nicht,  and  I'm  afraid  he's  dead." 

Mrs.  Dolan  hurried  in  and  repeated  the  message 
to  Mary.  She  sat  speechless  while  her  sister  bustled 
about  putting  on  her  wraps. 

"  I  ain't  goin',"  she  said  shortly.  "  If  I  got  sight 
of  him,  I'd  kill  him  if  he  wasn't  dead." 

"  Oh,  yis  you  are  goin',"  said  Katy  Dolan.  "  If 
he's  dead,  you  know,  it  will  save  you  being  hanged 
for  killing  him.  Get  on  these  things  of  mine  and 
hurry.  You  got  to  go  for  decency  sake;  and  kape  a 
still  tongue  in  your  head.  Dannie  Micnoun  is  wait 
ing  for  us." 

Together  they  went  out  and  climbed  into  the  car* 
riage.  Mary  said  nothing,  but  Dannie  was  too  miser' 
able  to  notice. 

"You  didn't  find  him  thin,  last  night?"  asked 
Mrs.  Dolan. 

"  Na !  "  shivered  Dannie.  "  I  was  in  town  twice. 
I  hunted  almost  all  nicht.  At  last  I  made  sure  you 
had  taken  him  in  and  I  went  to  bed.  It  was  three 

211 


AT   THE    FOOT   OF   THE    RAINBOW 

o'clock  then.  I  must  have  passed  often,  wi'in  a  few 
yards  of  him." 

"  Where  was  he?  "  asked  Katy. 

"  Behind  the  straw-stack,"  replied  Dannie. 

44  Do  you  think  he  will  die?" 

"Dee!"  cried  Dannie.  "Jimmy  dee!  Oh,  my 
God !  We  mauna  let  him  I  " 

Mrs.  Dolan  took  a  furtive  peep  at  Mary,  who, 
dry-eyed  and  white,  was  staring  straight  ahead.  She 
was  trembling  and  very  pale,  but  if  Katy  Dolan  knew 
anything  she  knew  that  her  sister's  face  was  unfor-. 
giving  and  she  did  not  in  the  least  blame  her. 

Dannie,  reached  home  as  soon  as  the  horse  could 
take  them,  and  under  the  doctor's  directions  all  of 
them  began  work.  Mary  did  what  she  was  told,  but 
she  did  it  deliberately,  and  if  Dannie  had  taken  time 
to  notice  her  he  would  have  seen  anything  but  his  idea 
of  a  woman  facing  death  for  any  one  she  ever  had 
loved.  Mary's  hurt  went  so  deep,  Mrs.  Dolan  had 
trouble  to  keep  it  covered.  Some  of  the  neighbors 
said  Mary  was  cold-hearted,  and  some  of  them  that 
she  was  stupefied  with  grief. 

Without  stopping  for  food  or  sleep,  Dannie  nursed 
Jimmy.  He  rubbed,  he  bathed,  he  poulticed,  he  bad 
gered  the  doctor  and  cursed  his  inability  to  do  some 

212 


WHEN  JIMMY   CAME  TO  CONFESSION 

good.  To  every  one  except  Dannie,  Jimmy's  case 
was  hopeless  from  the  first.  He  developed  double 
pneumonia  in  its  worst  form  and  he  was  in  no  con 
dition  to  endure  it  in  the  lightest.  His  labored  breath 
ing  could  be  heard  all  over  the  cabin,  and  he  could 
speak  only  in  gasps.  On  the  third  day  he  seemed  a 
little  better,  and  when  Dannie  asked  what  he  could 
do  for  him,  "  Father  Michael,"  Jimmy  panted,  and 
clung  to  Dannie's  hand. 

Dannie  sent  a  man  and  remained  with  Jimmy.  He 
made  no  offer  to  go  when  the  priest  came. 

"  This  is  probably  in  the  nature  of  a  last  confes 
sion,"  said  Father  Michael  to  Dannie,  "  I  shall  have 
to  ask  you  to  leave  us  alone." 

Dannie  felt  the  hand  that  clung  to  him  relax,  and 
the  perspiration  broke  on  his  temples.  "  Shall  I  go, 
Jimmy?  "  he  asked. 

Jimmy  nodded.  Dannie  arose  heavily  and  left  the 
room.  He  sat  down  outside  the  door  and  rested  his 
head  in  his  hands. 

The  priest  stood  beside  Jimmy.  "  The  doctor  tells 
me  it  is  difficult  for  you  to  speak,"  he  said,  "  I  will 
help  you  all  I  can.  I  will  ask  questions  and  you  need 
only  assent  with  your  head  or  hand.  Do  you  wish  the 
last  sacrament  administered,  Jimmy  Malone?" 

213 


AT   THE    FOOT   OF   THE    RAINBOW 

The  sweat  rolled  off  Jimmy's  brow.    He  assented. 

"  Do  you  wish  to  make  final  confession?  " 

A  great  groan  shook  Jimmy.  The  priest  remem 
bered  a  gay,  laughing  boy,  flinging  back  a  shock  of 
auburn  hair,  his  feet  twinkling  in  the  lead  of  the 
dance.  Here  was  ruin  to  make  the  heart  of  com 
passion  ache.  The  Father  bent  and  clasped  the  hand 
of  Jimmy  firmly.  The  question  he  asked  was  between 
Jimmy  Malone  and  his  God.  The  answer  almost 
strangled  him. 

"  Can  you  confess  that  mortal  sin,  Jimmy?  "  asked 
the  priest. 

The  drops  on  Jimmy's  face  merged  in  one  bath  of 
agony.  His  hands  clenched  and  his  breath  seemed  to 
go  no  lower  than  his  throat. 

"  Lied — Dannie,"  he  rattled,  "  Sip-rate  him — 
and  Mary." 

"  Are  you  trying  to  confess  that  you  betrayed  a 
confidence  of  Dannie  Macnoun  and  married  the  girl 
who  belonged  to  him,  yourself?" 

Jimmy  assented. 

His  horrified  eyes  hung  on  the  priest's  face  and 
saw  it  turn  cold  and  stern.  Always  the  thing  he  had 
done  had  tormented  him ;  but  not  until  the  past  sum 
mer  had  he  begun  to  realize  the  depth  of  it,  and  it 

214 


WHEN  JIMMY   CAME  TO  CONFESSION 

had  almost  unseated  his  reason.  But  not  until  now 
had  come  fullest  appreciation,  and  Jimmy  read  it  in 
the  eyes  filled  with  repulsion  above  him. 

"  And  with  that  sin  on  your  soul,  you  ask  the  last 
sacrament  and  the  seal  of  forgiveness!  You  have 
not  wronged  God  and  the  Holy  Catholic  Church  as 
you  have  this  man,  with  whom  you  have  lived  for 
years,  while  you  possessed  his  rightful  wife.  Now  he 
is  here,  in  deathless  devotion,  fighting  to  save  you. 
You  may  confess  to  him.  If  he  will  forgive  you,  God 
and  the  Church  will  ratify  it,  and  set  the  seal  on  your 
brow.  If  not,  you  die  unshriven!  I  will  call  Dannie 
Macnoun." 

One  gurgling  howl  broke  from  -the  swollen  lips  of 
Jimmy. 

As  Dannie  entered  the  room,  the  priest  spoke  a  few 
words  to  him,  stepped  out  and  closed  the  door.  Dan 
nie  hurried  to  Jimmy's  side. 

"  He  said  ye  wanted  to  tell  me  something,"  said 
Dannie.  "  What  is  it?  Do  you  want  me  to  do  any 
thing  for  you  ?  " 

Suddenly  Jimmy  struggled  to  a  sitting  posture.  His 
popping  eyes  a-lmost  burst  from  their  sockets  as  he 
clutched  Dannie  with  both  hands.  The  perspiration 
poured  in  little  streams  down  his  dreadful  face. 

215 


AT  THE   FOOT   OF   THE    RAINBOW 

"  Mary,"  the  next  word  was  lost  in  a  strangled 
gasp.  Then  came  "  yours,"  and  then  a  queer  rattle. 
Something  seemed  to  give  way.  "  The  divils !  "  he 
shrieked.  u  The  divils  have  got  me !  " 

Snap !  his  heart  failed,  and  Jimmy  Malone  went 
out  to  face  his  record,  unforgiven  by  man,  and  un- 
shriven  by  priest. 


216 


DANNIE'S   RENUNCIATION 


CHAPTER   X 

DANNIE'S  RENUNCIATION 

O  they  stretched  Jimmy's  length  on 
Five  Mile  Hill  beside  the  three 
babies  that  had  lacked  the  "  vital 
spark."  Mary  went  to  the 
Dolans  for  the  winter  and  Dannie 
was  left,  sole  occupant  of  Rainbow 
Bottom.  Because  so  much  fruit  and  food  that  would 
freeze  were  stored  there,  he  was  even  asked  to  live  in 
Jimmy's  cabin. 

Dannie  began  the  winter  stolidly.  All  day  long 
and  as  far  as  he  could  find  anything  to  do  in  the  night, 
he  worked.  He  mended  everything  about  both  farms, 
rebuilt  all  the  fences  and  as  a  never-failing  resource, 
he  cut  wood.  He  cut  so  much  that  he  began  to  realize 
that  it  would  get  too  dry  and  the  burning  of  it  would 

219 


AT   THE    FOOT   OF   THE    RAINBOW 

become  extravagant,  so  he  stopped  that  and  began 
making  some  changes  he  had  long  contemplated. 
During  fur  time  he  set  his  line  of  traps  on  his  side 
of  the  river  and  on  the  other  he  religiously  set 
Jimmy's. 

But  he  divided  the  proceeds  from  the  skins  exactly 
in  half,  no  matter  whose  traps  caught  them,  and  with 
Jimmy's  share  of  the  money  he  started  a  bank  account 
for  Mary.  As  he  could  not  use  all  of  them  he  sold 
Jimmy's  horses,  cattle  and  pigs.  With  half  the  stock 
gone  he  needed  only  half  the  hay  and  grain  stored 
for  feeding.  He  disposed  of  the  chickens,  turkeys, 
ducks,  and  geese  that  Mary  wanted  sold,  and  placed 
the  money  to  her  credit.  He  sent  her  a  beautiful  little 
red  bank  book  and  an  explanation  of  all  these  transac 
tions  by  Dolan.  Mary  threw  the  book  across  the  room 
because  she  wanted  Dannie  to  keep  her  money  him 
self,  and  then  cried  herself  to  sleep  that  night,  be 
cause  Dannie  had  sent  the  book  instead  of  bringing 
it.  But  when  she  fully  understood  the  transactions 
and  realized  that  if  she  chose  she  could  spend  several 
hundred  dollars,  she  grew  very  proud  of  that  book. 

About  the  empty  cabins  and  the  barns,  working  on 
the  farms,  wading  the  mud  and  water  of  the  river 
bank,  or  tingling  with  cold  on  the  ice  went  two  Dan- 

220 


DANNIE'S   RENUNCIATION 

nies.  The  one  a  dull,  listless  man,  mechanically  forc 
ing  a  tired,  overworked  body  to  action,  and  the  other 
a  self-accused  murderer. 

"  I  am  responsible  for  the  whole  thing,"  he  told 
himself  many  times  a  day.  "  I  always  humored 
Jimmy.  I  always  took  the  muddy  side  of  the  road, 
and  the  big  end  of  the  log,  and  the  hard  part  of  the 
work,  and  filled  his  traps  wi'  rats  from  my  own;  why 
in  God's  name  did  I  let  the  Deil  o'  stubbornness  in  me 
drive  him  to  his  death  noo?  Why  didna  I  let  him 
have  the  Black  Bass?  Why  didna  I  make  him  come 
home  and  put  on  dry  clothes?  I  killed  him,  juist 
as  sure  as  if  I'd  taken  an  ax  and  broken  his  heid." 

Through  every  minute  of  the  exposure  of  winter 
outdoors  and  the  torment  of  it  inside,  Dannie  tortured 
himself.  Of  Mary  he  seldom  thought  at  all.  She 
was  safe  with  her  sister,  and  although  Dannie  did  not 
know  when  or  how  it  happened,  he  awoke  one  day 
to  the  realization  that  he  had  renounced  her.  He 
had  killed  Jimmy;  he  could  not  take  his  wife  and 
his  farm.  And  Dannie  was  so  numb  with  long- 
suffering,  that  he  did  not  much  care.  There  come 
times  when  troubles  pile  so  deep  that  the  edge  of 
human  feeling  is  dulled. 

He  would  take  care  of  Mary,  yes,  she  was  as  much 
221 


AT   THE    FOOT   OF   THE    RAINBOW 

Jimmy's  as  his  farm,  but  he  did  not  want  her  for 
himself  now.  If  he  had  to  kill  his  only  friend,  he 
would  not  complete  his  downfall  by  trying  to  win  his 
wife.  So  through  that  winter  Mary  got  very  little 
consideration  in  the  remorseful  soul  of  Dannie,  and 
Jimmy  grew,  as  the  dead  grow,  by  leaps  and  bounds, 
until  by  spring  Dannie  had  him  well-nigh  canonized. 

When  winter  broke,  Dannie  had  his  future  well 
mapped  out.  And  that  future  was  devotion  to 
Jimmy's  memory,  with  no  more  of  Mary  in  it  than 
was  possible  to  keep  out.  He  told  himself  that  he 
was  glad  she  was  away  and  he  did  not  care  to  have 
her  return.  Deep  in  his  soul  he  harbored  the  feeling 
that  he  had  killed  Jimmy  to  make  himself  look  victor 
in  her  eyes  in  such  a  small  matter  as  taking  a  fish. 
And  deeper  yet  a  feeling  that,  everything  considered, 
still  she  might  mourn  Jimmy  more  than  she  did. 

So  Dannie  definitely  settled  that  he  always  would 
live  alone  on  the  farms.  Mary  should  remain  with 
her  sister,  and  at  his  death,  everything  should  be  hers. 
The  night  he  finally  reached  that  decision,  the  King 
fisher  came  home.  Dannie  heard  his  rattle  of  exulta 
tion  as  he  struck  the  embankment  and  the  suffering 
man  turned  his  face  to  the  wall  and  sobbed  aloud,  so 
that  for  a  little  time  he  stifled  Jimmy's  dying  gasps 

222 


DANNIE'S   RENUNCIATION, 

that  in  wakeful  night  hours  sounded  in  his  ears. 
Early  the  next  morning  he  drove  through  the  village 
on  his  way  to  the  county  seat,  with  a  load  of  grain. 
Dolan  saw  him  and  running  home  he  told  Mary. 
"  He  will  be  gone  all  day.  Now  is  your  chance!  " 
he  said. 

Mary  sprang  to  her  feet,  "  Hurry!  "  she  panted, 
"hurry!" 

An  hour  later  a  loaded  wagon,  a  man  and  three 
women  drew  up  before  the  cabins  in  Rainbow  Bot 
tom.  Mary,  her  sister,  Dolan,  and  a  scrub  woman 
entered.  Mary  pointed  out  the  objects  which  she 
wished  removed,  and  Dolan  carried  them  out.  They 
took  up  the  carpets,  swept  down  the  walls,  and  washed 
the  windows.  They  hung  pictures,  prints,  and  litho 
graphs,  and  curtained  the  windows  in  dainty  white. 
They  covered  the  floors  with  bright  carpets,  and 
placed  new  ornaments  on  the  mantle,  and  comfortable 
furniture  in  the  rooms.  There  was  a  white  iron  bed, 
and  several  rocking  chairs,  and  a  shelf  across  the 
window  filled  with  potted  hyacinths  in  bloom. 
Among  them  stood  a  glass  bowl,  containing  three 
wonderful  little  gold  fish,  and  from  the  top  casing 
hung  a  brass  cage,  from  which  a  green  linnet  sang 
an  exultant  song. 

223 


AT   THE    FOOT    OF   THE    RAINBOW 

You  should  have  seen  Mary  M alone !  When 
everything  was  finished,  she  was  changed  the  most 
of  all.  She  was  so  sure  of  Dannie,  that  while  the 
winter  had  brought  annoyance  that  he  did  not  come, 
it  really  had  been  one  long,  glorious  rest.  She 
laughed  and  sang,  and  grew  younger  with  every  pass 
ing  day.  As  youth  surged  back,  with  it  returned 
roundness  of  form,  freshness  of  face,  and  that  bred 
the  desire  to  be  daintily  dressed.  So  of  pretty  light 
fabrics  she  made  many  summer  dresses,  for  wear 
mourning  she  would  not. 

When  calmness  returned  to  Mary,  she  had  told 
the  Dolans  the  whole  story.  "  Now  do  you  ixpict 
me  to  grieve  for  the  man?"  she  asked.  "  Fiftane 
years  with  him,  through  his  lying  tongue,  whin  by 
ivery  right  of  our  souls  and  our  bodies,  Dannie  Mic- 
noun  and  I  belanged  to  each  other.  Mourn  for  him ! 
I'm  glad  he's  dead!  Glad!  Glad!  If  he  had  not 
died,  I  should  have  killed  him,  if  Dannie  did  not! 
It  was  a  happy  thing  that  he  died.  His  death  saved 
me  mortal  sin.  I'm  glad,  I  tell  you,  and  I  do  not 

forgive  him,  and  I  niver  will,  and  I  hope  he  will 
t       »» 

Katy  Dolan  clapped  her  hand  over  Mary's  mouth. 
"  For  the  love  of  marcy,  don't  say  that !  "  she  cried. 

224 


DANNIE'S    RENUNCIATION 

"  You  will  have  to  confiss  it,  and  you'd  be  ashamed 
to  face  the  praste." 

"  I  would  not,"  cried  Mary.  "  Father  Michael 
knows  I'm  just  an  ordinary  woman,  he  don't  ixpict 
me  to  be  an  angel."  But  she  left  the  sentence  un 
finished. 

After  Mary's  cabin  was  arranged  to  her  satisfac 
tion,  they  attacked  Dannie's;  emptying  it,  cleaning  it 
completely,  and  refurnishing  it  from  the  best  of  the 
things  that  had  been  in  both.  Then  Mary  added 
some  new  touches.  A  comfortable  big  chair  was 
placed  by  his  fire,  new  books  on  his  mantle,  a  flower 
in  his  window,  and  new  covers  on  his  bed.  While 
the  women  worked,  Dolan  raked  the  yards,  and 
freshened  matters  outside  as  best  he  could.  When 
everything  they  had  planned  to  do  was  accomplished, 
the  wagon,  loaded  with  the  ugly  old  things  Mary 
despised,  drove  back  to  the  village,  and  she,  with 
little  Tilly  Dolan  for  company,  remained. 

Mary  was  tense  with  excitement.  All  the  woman 
in  her  had  yearned  for  these  few  pretty  things  she 
wanted  for  her  home  throughout  the  years  that  she 
had  been  compelled  to  live  in  crude,  ugly  surround 
ings;  because  every  cent  above  plainest  clothing  and 
food,  went  for  drink  for  Jimmy,  and  treats  for  his 

225 


AT   THE    FOOT    OF   THE    RAINBOW 

friends.  Now  she  danced  and  sang,  and  flew  about 
trying  a  chair  here,  and  another  there,  to  get  the  best 
effect.  Every  little  while  she  slipped  into  her  bed 
room,  stood  before  a  real  dresser,  and  pulled  out  its 
trays  to  make  sure  that  her  fresh,  light  dresses  were 
really  there.  She  shook  out  the  dainty  curtains  repeat 
edly,  watered  the  flowers,  and  fed  the  fish  when  they 
did  not  need  it.  She  babbled  incessantly  to  the  green 
linnet,  which  with  swollen  throat  rejoiced  with  her, 
and  occasionally  she  looked  in  the  mirror. 

She  lighted  the  fire,  and  put  food  to  cook.  She 
covered  a  new  table,  with  a  new  cloth,  and  set  it  with 
new  dishes,  and  placed  a  jar  of  her  flowers  in  the 
center.  What  a  supper  she  did  cook !  When  she  had 
waited  until  she  was  near  crazed  with  nervousness, 
she  heard  the  wagon  coming  up  the  lane.  Peeping 
from  the  window,  she  saw  Dannie  stop  the  horses 
short,  and  sit  staring  at  the  cabins,  and  she  realized  I 
that  smoke  would  be  curling  from  the  chimney,  and 
the  flowers  and  curtains  would  change  the  shining 
windows  outside.  She  trembled  with  excitement,  and 
than  a  great  yearning  seized  her,  as  he  slowly  drove 
closer,  for  his  brown  hair  was  almost  white,  and  the 
lines  on  his  face  seemed  indelibly  stamped.  And  then 
hot  anger  shook  her.  Fifteen  years  of  her  life 

226 


DANNIE'S    RENUNCIATION 

wrecked,   and  look  at  Dannie!     That  was  Jimmy 
Malone's  work. 

Over  and  over,  throughout  the  winter,  she  had 
planned  this  home-coming  as  a  surprise  to  Dannie. 
Book-fine  were  the  things  she  intended  to  say  to  him. 
When  he  opened  the  door,  and  stared  at  her  and  about 
the  altered  room,  she  swiftly  went  to  him,  and  took 
the  bundles  he  carried  from  his  arms. 

"  Hurry    up,    and    unhitch,    Dannie,"    she    said. 
'  Your  supper  is  waiting." 

And  Dannie  turned  and  stolidly  walked  back  to  his 
team,  without  uttering  a  word. 

"  Uncle  Dannie  I  "  cried  a  child's  voice.  "  Please 
let  me  ride  to  the  barn  with  you  I  " 

A  winsome  little  maid  came  rushing  to  Dannie, 
threw  her  arms  about  his  neck,  and  hugged  him  tight, 
as  he  stooped  to  lift  her.  Her  yellow  curls  were 
against  his  cheek,  and  her  breath  was  flower-sweet  in 
his  face. 

"Why  didn't  you  kiss  Aunt  Mary?"  she  de 
manded.  "  Daddy  Dolan  always  kisses  mammy  when 
he  comes  from  all  day  gone.  Aunt  Mary's  worked 
so  hard  to  please  you.  And  Daddie  worked,  and 
mammy  worked,  and  another  woman.  You  are 
pleased,  ain't  you,  Uncle  Dannie?" 

227 


AT   THE    FOOT   OF   THE    RAINBOW 

11  Who  told  ye  to  call  me  Uncle?  "  asked  Dannie, 
with  unsteady  lips. 

"  She  did  1  "  announced  the  little  woman,  flourish 
ing  the  whip  in  the  direction  of  the  cabin.  Dannie 
climbed  down  to  unhitch.  "  You  are  goin'  to  be  my 
Uncle,  ain't  you,  as  soon  as  it's  a  little  over  a  year, 
so  folks  won't  talk?" 

*  Who  told  ye  that?"  panted  Dannie,  hiding 
behind  a  horse. 

"  Nobody  told  me !  Mammy  just  said  it  to 
Daddy,  and  I  heard,"  answered  the  little  maid. 
"  And  I'm  glad  of  it,  and  so  are  all  of  us  glad. 
Mammy  said  she'd  just  love  to  come  here  now,  whin 
things  would  be  like  white  folks.  Mammy  said  Aunt 
Mary  had  suffered  a  lot  more'n  her  share.  Say,  you 
won't  make  her  suffer  any  more,  will  you?  " 

"  No,"  moaned  Dannie,  and  staggered  into  the 
barn  with  the  horses.  He  leaned  against  a  stall,  and 
shut  his  eyes.  He  could  see  the  bright  room,  plainer 
than  ever,  and  that  little  singing  bird  sounded  loud 
as  any  thunder  in  his  ears.  And  whether  closed  or 
open,  he  could  see  Mary,  never  in  all  her  life  so 
beautiful,  never  so  sweet;  flesh  and  blood  Mary,  in 
a  dainty  dress,  with  the  shining,  unafraid  eyes  of 
girlhood.  It  was  that  thing  which  struck  Dannie  first, 

228 


DANNIE'S   RENUNCIATION 

and  hit  him  hardest.  Mary  was  a  careless  girl  again. 
When  before  had  he  seen  her  with  neither  trouble, 
anxiety  or,  worse  yet,  feart  in  her  beautiful  eyes? 

And  she  had  come  to  stay.  She  would  not  have 
refurnished  her  cabin  otherwise.  Dannie  took  hold 
of  the  manger  with  both  hands,  because  his  sinking 
knees  needed  bracing. 

"  Dannie,"  called  Mary's  voice  in  the  doorway, 
"  has  my  spickled  hin  showed  any  signs  of  setting 
yet?" 

"  She's  been  over  twa  weeks,"  answered  Dannie. 
"  She's  in  that  barrel  there  in  the  corner." 

Mary  entered  the  barn,  removed  the  prop,  lowered 
the  board,  and  kneeling,  stroked  the  hen,  and  talked 
softly  to  her.  She  slipped  a  hand  under  the  hen,  and 
lifted  her  to  see  the  eggs.  Dannie  staring  at  Mary 
noted  closer  the  fresh,  cleared  skin,  the  glossy  hair, 
the  delicately  colored  cheeks,  and  the  plumpness  of  the 
bare  arms.  One  little  wisp  of  curl  lay  against  the 
curve  of  her  neck,  just  where  it  showed  rose-pink, 
and  looked  honey  sweet.  And  in  one  great  surge,  the 
repressed  stream  of  passion  in  the  strong  man  broke, 
an^  Dannie  swayed  against  his  horse.  His  tongue 
stuck  to  the  roof  of  his  mouth,  and  he  caught  at  the 
harness  to  steady  himself,  while  he  strove  to  grow 

229 


AT   THE    FOOT   OF   THE    RAINBOW 

accustomed  to  the  fact  that  Hell  had  opened  in  a  new 
form  for  him.  The  old  heart  hunger  for  Mary 
Malone  was  back  in  stronger  force  than  ever  before; 
and  because  of  him  Jimmy  lay  stretched  on  Five  Mile 
Hill. 

"  Dannie,  you  are  just  fine!  "  said  Mary.  "  IVe 
been  almost  wild  to  get  home,  because  I  thought  ivery- 
thing  would  be  ruined,  and  instid  of  that  it's  all 
ixactly  the  way  I  do  it.  Do  hurry,  and  get  riddy  for 
supper.  Oh,  it's  so  good  to  be  home  again !  I  want 
to  make  garden,  and  fix  my  flowers,  and  get  some 
little  chickens  and  turkeys  into  my  fingers.1' 

"  I  have  to  go  home,  and  wash,  and  spruce  up  a  bit, 
for  ladies,"  said  Dannie,  leaving  the  barn. 

Mary  made  no  reply,  and  it  came  to  him  that  she 
expected  it.  "  Damned  if  I  will !  "  he  said,  as  he 
started  home.  "  If  she  wants  to  come  here,  and  force 
herself  on  me,  she  can,  but  she  canna  mak'  me " 

just  then  Dannie  stepped  in  his  door,  and  slowly 
gazed  about  him.  In  a  way  his  home  was  as  com 
pletely  transformed  as  hers.  He  washed  his  face  and 
hands,  and  started  for  a  better  coat.  His  sleeping 
room  shone  with  clean  windows,  curtained  in  sn^wy 
white.  A  freshly  ironed  suit  of  underclothing  and  a 
shirt  lay  on  his  bed.  Dannie  stared  at  them. 

230 


DANNIE'S   RENUNCIATION 

"  She  think' s  I'll  tog  up  in  them,  and  come  court- 
in'/'  he  growled.  "  I'll  show  her  if  I  do!  I  winna 
touch  them!  " 

To  prove  that  he  would  not,  Dannie  caught  them 
up  in  a  wad,  and  threw  them  into  a  corner.  That 
showed  a  clean  sheet,  fresh  pillow,  and  new  covers, 
invitingly  spread  back.  Dannie  turned  a*  white  as 
the  pillow  at  which  he  stared. 

;<  That's  a  damn  plain  insinuation  that  Fm  to  get 
into  ye,1'  he  said  to  the  bed,  "  and  go  on  living  here. 
I  dinna  know  as  that  child's  jabber  counts.  For  all  I 
know,  Mary  may  already  have  picked  out  some  town 
dude  to  bring  here  and  farm  out  on  me,  and  they'll 
live  with  the  bird  cage,  and  I  can  go  on  climbin'  into 
ye  alone." 

Here  was  a  new  thought.  Mary  might  mean  only 
kindness  to  him  again,  as  she  had  sent  word  by  Jimmy 
she  meant  years  ago.  He  might  lose  her  for  the  sec 
ond  time.  And  again  a  wave  of  desire  struck  Dannie, 
and  left  him  staggering. 

"Ain't  you  comin',  Uncle  Dannie?"  called  the 
child's  voice  at  the  back  door. 

:<  What's  your  name,  little  lass?  "  inquired  Dannie. 
*  Tilly,"  answered  the  little  girl  promptly. 

''Well,  Tilly,  ye  go  tell  your  Aunt  Mary  I  Lave 
231 


AT   THE    FOOT   OF   THE    RAINBOW 

been  in  an  eelevator  handlin'  grain,  and  I'm  cov 
ered  wi'  fine  dust  and  chaff  that  sticks  me.  I  canna 
come  until  I've  had  a  bath,  and  put  on  clean  clothing, 
Tell  her  to  go  ahead." 

The  child  vanished.  In  a  second  she  was  back. 
"  She  said  she  won't  do  it,  and  take  all  the  time  you 
want  But  I  wish  you'd  hurry,  for  she  won't  let  me 
either." 

Dannie  hurried.  But  the  hasty  bath  and  the  fresh 
clothing  felt  so  good  he  was  in  a  softened  mood  when 
he  approached  Mary's  door  again.  Tilly  was  waiting 
on  the  step,  and  ran  to  meet  him.  Tilly  was  a  dream. 
Almost,  Dannie  understood  why  Mary  had  brought 
her.  Tilly  led  him  to  the  table,  and  pulled  back  a 
chair  for  him,  and  he  lifted  her  into  hers,  and  as 
Mary  set  dish  after  dish  of  food  on  the  table,  Tilly 
filled  in  every  pause  that  threatened  to  grow  awkward 
I  with  her  chatter.  Dannie  had  been  a  very  lonely  man, 
and  he  did  love  Mary's  cooking.  Until  then  he  had 
not  realized  how  sore  a  trial  six  months  of  his  own 
had  been. 

"  If  I  was  a  praying  mon,  I'd  ask  a  blessing,  and 
thank  God  fra  this  food,"  said  Dannie. 

"  What's  the  matter  with  me?  "  asked  Mary. 

"  I  have  never  yet  found  anything,"  answered  Dan« 
232 


DANNIE'S   RENUNCIATION 

nie.  "  And  I  do  thank  ye  fra  everything.  I  believe 
I'm  most  thankful  of  all  fra  the  clean  clothes  and  the 
clean  bed.  I'm  afraid  I  was  neglectin'  myself,  Mary." 

"  Will,  you'll  not  be  neglected  any  more,"  said 
Mary.  "  Things  have  turned  over  a  new  leaf  here. 
For  all  you  give,  you  get  some  return,  after  this. 
We  are  going  to  do  business  in  a  businesslike  way, 
and  divide  even.  I  liked  that  bank  account,  pretty 
will,  Dannie.  Thank  you,  for  that.  And  don't  think 
I  spint  all  of  it.  I  didn't  spind  a  hundred  dollars  all 
togither.  Not  the  price  of  one  horse !  But  it  made 
me  so  happy  I  could  fly.  Home  again,  and  the  things 
I've  always  wanted,  and  nothing  to  fear.  Oh,  Dan 
nie,  you  don't  know  what  it  manes  to  a  woman  to  be 
always  afraid !  My  heart  is  almost  jumping  out  of 
my  body,  just  with  pure  joy  that  the  old  fear  is  gone." 

"  I  know  what  it  means  to  a  mon  to  be  afraid,"  said 
Dannie.  And  vividly  before  him  loomed  the  awful, 
distorted,  dying  face  of  Jimmy. 

Mary  guessed,  and  her  bright  face  clouded. 

"  Some  day,  Dannie,  we  must  have  a  little  talk," 
she  said,  "  and  clear  up  a  few  things  neither  of  us 
understand.  'Til  thin  we  will  just  farm,  and  be  part 
ners,  and  be  as  happy  as  iver  we  can.  I  don't  know 
as  you  mean  to,  but  if  you  do,  I  warn  you  right  now 

233 


AT  THE    FOOT   OF   THE    RAINBOW 

that  you   need  niver  mintion   the  name  of  Jimmy 
Malone  to  me  again,  for  any  reason." 

Dannie  left  the  cabin  abruptly. 

"  Now  you  gone  and  made  him  mad !  "  reproached 
Tilly. 

During  the  past  winter  Mary  had  lived  with  other 
married  people  for  the  first  time,  and  she  had  imbibed 
some  of  Mrs.  Dolan's  philosophy. 

"  Whin  he  smells  the  biscuit  I  mane  to  make  for 
breakfast,  he'll  get  glad  again,"  she  said,  and  he  did. 

But  first  he  went  home,  and  tried  to  learn  where  he 
stood.  Was  he  truly  responsible  for  Jimmy's  death? 
Yes.  If  he  had  acted  like  a  man,  he  could  have  saved 
Jimmy.  He  was  responsible.  Did  he  want  to  marry 
Mary?  Did  he?  Dannie  reached  empty  arms  to 
empty  space,  and  groaned  aloud.  Would  she  marry 
him  ?  Well,  now,  would  she  ?  After  years  of  neglect 
and  sorrow,  Dannie  knew  that  Mary  had  learned  to 
prefer  him  to  Jimmy.  But  ajmost  any  man  would 
have  been  preferable  to  a  woman,  to  Jimmy.  Jimmy 
was  distinctly  a  man's  man.  A  jolly  good  fellow,  but 
he  would  not  deny  himself  anything,  no  matter  what 
it  cost  his  wife,  and  he  had  been  very  hard  to  live 
with.  Dannie  admitted  that.  So  Mary  had  come 
to  prefer  him  to  Jimmy,  that  was  sure ;  but  it  was  not 

234 


DANNIE'S   RENUNCIATION 

a  question  between  him  and  Jimmy,  now.  It  was 
between  him,  and  any  marriageable  man  that  Mary 
might  fancy. 

He  had  grown  old,  and  gray,  and  wrinkled,  though 
he  was  under  forty.  Mary  had  grown  round,  and 
young,  and  he  had  never  seen  her  looking  so  beautiful. 
Surely  she  would  want  a  man  now  as  young,  and  as 
fresh  as  herself;  and  she  might  want  to  live  in  town 
after  a  while,  if  she  grew  tired  of  the  country.  Could 
he  remember  Jimmy's  dreadful  death,  realize  that  he 
was  responsible  for  it,  and  make  love  to  his  wife? 
No,  she  was  sacred  to  Jimmy.  Could  he  live  beside 
her,  and  lose  her  to  another  man  for  the  second  time  ? 
No,  she  belonged  to  him.  It  was  almost  daybreak 
when  Dannie  remembered  the  fresh  bed,  and  lay  down 
for  a  few  hours'  rest. 

But  there  was  no  rest  for  Dannie,  and  after  toss 
ing  about  until  dawn  he  began  his  work.  When  he 
carried  the  milk  into  the  cabin,  and  smelled  the  bis 
cuit,  he  fulfilled  Mary's  prophecy,  got  glad  again,  and 
came  to  breakfast.  Then  he  went  about  his  work. 
But  as  the  day  wore  on,  he  repeatedly  heard  the  voice 
of  the  woman  and  the  child,  combining  in  a  chorus  of 
laughter.  From  the  little  front  porch,  the  green  bird 
warbled  and  trilled.  Neighbors  who  had  heard  0£ 

235 


AT   THE    FOOT   OF   THE    RAINBOW 

her  return  came  up  the  lane  to  welcome  a  happy  Mary 
Malone.  The  dead  dreariness  of  winter  melted  be 
fore  the  spring  sun,  and  in  Dannie's  veins  the  warm 
blood  swept  up,  as  the  sap  flooded  the  trees,  and  in 
spite  of  himself  he  grew  gladder  and  yet  gladder. 

He  now  knew  how  he  had  missed  Mary.  How 
he  had  loathed  that  empty,  silent  cabin.  How 
remorse  and  heart  hunger  had  gnawed  at  his  vitals, 
and  he  decided  that  he  would  go  on  just  as  Mary  had 
said,  and  let  things  drift;  and  when  she  was  ready 
to  have  the  talk  with  him  she  had  mentioned,  he  would 
hear  what  she  had  to  say.  And  as  he  thought  over 
these  things,  he  caught  himself  watching  for  furrows 
that  Jimmy  was  not  making  on  the  other  side  of  the 
field.  He  tried  to  talk  to  the  robins  and  blackbirds 
instead  of  Jimmy,  but  they  were  not  such  good  com 
pany.  And  when  the  day  was  over,  he  tried  not  to 
be  glad  that  he  was  going  to  the  shining  eyes  of 
Mary  Malone,  a  good  supper,  and  a  clean  bed,  and 
it  was  not  in  the  heart  of  man  to  do  it. 

The  summer  wore  on,  autumn  came,  and  the  year 
Tilly  had  spoken  of  was  over.  Dannie  went  his 
way,  doing  the  work  of  two  men,  thinking  of  every 
thing,  planning  for  everything,  and  he  was  all  the 
heart  of  Mary  Malone  could  desire,  save  her  lover. 

236 


DANNIE'S   RENUNCIATION 

By  little  Mary  pieced  it  out.  Dannie  never  men 
tioned  fishing;  he  had  lost  his  love  for  the  river. 
She  knew  that  he  frequently  took  walks  to  Five  Mile 
Hill.  His  devotion  to  Jimmy's  memory  was  unswerv 
ing.  And  at  last  it  came  to  her,  that  in  death  as  in 
life,  Jimmy  Malone  was  separating  them.  She  began 
to  realize  that  there  might  be  things  she  did  not  know. 
What  had  Jimmy  told  the  priest  ?  Why  had  Father 
Michael  refused  to  confess  Jimmy  until  he  sent  Dan 
nie  to  him?  What  had  passed  between  them?  If  it 
was  what  she  had  thought  all  year,  why  did  it  not  free 
Dannie  to  her?  If  there  was  something  more,  what 
was  it? 

Surely  Dannie  loved  her.  Much  as  he  had  cared 
for  Jimmy,  he  had  vowed  that  everything  was  for  her 
first.  She  was  eager  to  be  his  wife,  and  something 
bound  him.  One  day,  she  decided  to  ask  him.  The 
next,  she  shrank  in  burning  confusion,  for  when 
Jimmy  Malone  had  asked  for  her  love,  she  had  ad 
mitted  to  him  that  she  loved  Dannie,  and  Jimmy  had 
told  her  that  it  was  no  use,  Dannie  did  not  care  for 
girls,  and  that  he  had  said  he  wished  she  would  not 
thrust  herself  upon  him.  On  the  strength  of  that 
statement  Mary  married  Jimmy  inside  five  weeks,  and 
spent  years  in  bitter  repentance. 

237 


*    AT   THE    FOOT   OF   THE    RAINBOW 

That  was  the  thing  which  held  her  now.  If  Dannie 
knew  what  she  did,  and  did  not  care  to  marry  her, 
how  could  she  mention  it  ?  Mary  began  to  grow  pale, 
and  lose  sleep,  and  Dannie  said  the  heat  of  the  sum 
mer  had  tired  her,  and  suggested  that  she  go  to  Mrs. 
Dolan's  for  a  week's  rest.  The  fact  that  he  was  will 
ing,  and  possibly  anxious  to  send  her  away  for  a  whole 
week,  angered  Mary.  She  went. 


THE   POT   OF  GOLD 


CHAPTER   XI 

THE    POT   OF   GOLD 

ARY  had  not  been  in  the  Dolan 
home  an  hour  until  Katy  knew  all 
she  could  tell  of  her  trouble. 
Mrs.  Dolan  was  practical.  "  Go 
to  see  Father  Michael,"  she  said. 
"  What's  he  for  but  to  hilp  us. 
Go  ask  him  what  Jimmy  told  him.  Till  him  how  you 
feel  and  what  you  know.  He  can  till  you  what  Dan 
nie  knows  and  thin  you  will  understand  where  you 
are  at." 

Mary  was  on  the  way  before  Mrs.  Dolan  fully  fin 
ished.  She  went  to  the  priest's  residence  and  asked 
his  housekeeper  to  inquire  if  he  would  see  her.  He 
would,  and  Mary  entered  his  presence  strangely  calm 


AT   THE    FOOT   OF   THE    RAINBOW 


self-possessed.  This  was  the  last  fight  she  knew 
of  that  she  could  make  for  happiness,  and  if  she  lost, 
happiness  was  over  for  her.  She  had  need  of  all  her 
wit  and  she  knew  it.  Father  Michael  began  laugh 
ing  as  he  shook  hands. 

"  Now  look  here,  Mary,"  he  said,  "  IVe  been  ex 
pecting  you.  I  warn  you  before  you  begin  that  I 
cannot  sanction  your  marriage  to  a  Protestant." 

"  Oh,  but  I'm  going  to  convart  him  !  "  cried  Mary 
so  quickly  that  the  priest  laughed  harder  than  ever. 

"  So  that's  the  lay  of  the  land  !  "  he  chuckled. 
"  Well,  if  you'll  guarantee  that,  I'll  give  in.  When 
shall  I  read  the  banns?  " 

"  Not  until  we  get  Dannk's  consint,"  answered 
Mary,  and  for  the  first  her  voice  wavered. 

Father  Michael  looked  his  surprise.  "  Tut  ! 
Tut!  "  he  said.  "  And  is  Dannie  dilatory?  " 

"  Dannie  is  the  finest  man  that  will  ever  live  in 
this  world,"  said  Mary,  "  but  he  don't  want  to  marry 


me." 


"  To  my  certain  knowledge  Dannie  has  loved  you 
all  your  life,"  said  Father  Michael.  "He  wants 
nothing  here  or  hereafter  as  he  wants  to  marry  you." 

"Thin  why  don't  he  till  me  so?"  sobbed  Mary, 
burying  her  burning  face  in  her  hands. 

242 


THE    POT   OF   GOLD 

"  Has  he  said  nothing  to  you?  "  gravely  inquired 
the  priest. 

"  No,  he  hasn't  and  I  don't  belave  he  intinds  to,'* 
answered  Mary,  wiping  her  eyes  and  trying  to  be 
composed.  "  There  is  something  about  Jimmy  that 
is  holding  him  back.  Mrs.  Dolan  thought  you'd 
help  me." 

"What  do  you  want  me  to  do,  Mary?"  asked 
Father  Michael. 

"  Two  things,"  answered  Mary  promptly.  "  I 
want  you  to  tell  me  what  Jimmy  confissed  to  you  be 
fore  he  died,  and  then  I  want  you  to  talk  to  Dannie 
and  show  him  that  he  is  free  from  any  promise  that 
Jimmy  might  have  got  out  of  him.  Will  you  ?  " 

"  A  dying  confession — "  began  the  priest. 

"  Yes,  but  I  know — "  broke  in  Mary.  "  I  saw 
them  fight,  and  I  heard  Jimmy  till  Dannie  that  he'd 
lied  to  him  to  separate  us,  but  he  turned  right  around 
and  took  it  back  and  I  knew  Dannie  belaved  him  thin ; 
but  he  can't  after  Jimmy  confissed  it  again  to  both  of 
you." 

"What   do  you  mean  by   *  saw   them  fight?' 
Father  Michael  was  leaning  toward  Mary  anxiously. 

Mary  told  him. 

"  Then  that  is  the  explanation  to  the  whole  thing,* 
243 


AT   THE    FOOT   OF   THE    RAINBOW 

said  the  priest.  "  Dannie  did  believe  Jimmy  when 
he  took  it  back,  and  he  died  before  he  could  repeat 
to  Dannie  what  he  had  told  me.  And  I  have  had  the 
feeling  that  Dannie  thought  himself  in  a  way  to  blame 
for  Jimmy's  death." 

"  He  was  not !  Oh,  he  was  not !  "  cried  Mary 
Malone.  "  Didn't  I  live  there  with  them  all  those 
years?  Dannie  always  was  good  as  gold  to  Jimmy. 
It  was  shameful  the  way  Jimmy  imposed  on  him,  and 
spint  his  money,  and  took  me  from  him.  It  was 
shameful !  Shameful !  " 

"  Be  calm !  Be  calm !  "  cautioned  Father  Michael. 
"  I  agree  with  you.  I  am  only  trying  to  arrive  at 
Dannie's  point  of  view.  He  well  might  feel  that  he 
was  responsible,  if  after  humoring  Jimmy  like  a  child 
all  his  life,  he  at  last  lost  his  temper  and  dealt  with 
him  as  if  he  were  a  man.  If  that  is  the  case,  he  is  of 
honor  so  fine,  that  he  would  hesitate  to  speak  to  you, 
no  matter  what  he  suffered.  And  then  it  is  clear  to 
me  that  he  does  not  understand  how  Jimmy  separated 
you  in  the  first  place." 

"  And  lied  me  into  marrying  him,  whin  I  told  him 
over  and  over  how  I  loved  Dannie.  Jimmy  Malone 
took  iverything  I  had  to  give,  and  he  left  me  alone  for 
iftane  years,  with  my  three  little  dead  babies,  that 

244 


THE   POT   OF   GOLD 

died  because  I'd  no  heart  to  desire  life  for  thim,  and 
he  took  my  youth,  and  he  took  my  womanhood,  and 
he  took  my  man — "  Mary  arose  in  primitive  rage. 
"You  naden't  bother!"  she  said.  "  I'm  going 
straight  to  Dannie  meself." 

"  Don't!  "  said  Father  Michael  softly.  "  Don't 
do  that,  Mary !  It  isn't  the  accepted  way.  There  is 
a  better!  Let  him  come  to  you." 

"  But  he  won't  come !  He  don't  know  1  He's  in 
Jimmy's  grip  tighter  in  death  than  he  was  in  life." 
Mary  began  to  sob  again. 

"He  will  come,"  said  Father  Michael.  "Be 
calm !  Wait  a  little,  my  child.  After  all  these  years, 
don't  spoil  a  love  that  has  been  almost  unequaled  in 
holiness  and  beauty,  by  anger  at  the  dead.  Let  me 
go  to  Dannie.  We  are  good  friends.  I  can  tell  him 
Jimmy  made  a  confession  to  me,  that  he  was  trying 
to  repeat  to  him,  when  punishment,  far  more  awful 
than  anything  you  have  suffered,  overtook  him.  Al 
ways  remember,  Mary,  he  died  unshriven !  "  Mary 
began  to  shiver.  "  Your  suffering  is  over,"  continued 
the  priest.  *  You  have  many  good  years  yet  that 
you  may  spend  with  Dannie ;  God  will  give  you  living 
children,  I  am  sure.  Think  of  the  years  Jimmy's 
secret  has  hounded  and  driven  him!  Think  of  the 

245 


AT   THE    FOOT   OE   THE    RAINBOW 

penalty  he  must  pay  before  he  gets  a  glimpse  of  para 
dise,  if  he  be  not  eternally  lost !  " 

"  I  have!  "  exclaimed  Mary.  "  And  it  is  nothing 
to  the  fact  that  he  took  Dannie  from  me,  and  yet 
kept  him  in  my  home  while  he  possessed  me  himsilf 
for  years.  May  he  burn " 

"  Mary!  Let  that  suffice!  "  cried  the  priest.  "  He 
will !  The  question  now  is,  shall  I  go  to  Dannie?  " 

"Will  you  till  him  just  what  Jimmy  told  you? 
Will  you  till  him  that  I  have  loved  him  always?  " 

"  Yes,"  said  Father  Michael. 

"Will  you  go  now?" 

"  I  cannot !  I  have  work.  I  will  come  early  in  the 
morning." 

*  You  will  till  him  ivirything?  "  she  repeated. 

"  I  will,"  promised  Father  Michael. 

Mary  went  back  to  Mrs.  Dolan's  comforted.  She 
was  anxious  to  return  home  at  once,  but  at  last  con 
sented  to  spend  the  day.  Now  that  she  was  sure 
Dannie  did  not  know  the  truth,  her  heart  warmed 
toward  him.  She  was  anxious  to  comfort  and  help 
him  in  the  long  struggle  which  she  saw  that  he  must 
have  endured.  By  late  afternoon  she  could  bear  it 
no  longer  and  started  back  to  Rainbow  Bottom  in 
time  to  prepare  supper. 

246 


THE   POT   OF   GOLD 

For  the  first  hour  after  Mary  had  gone  Dannie 
whistled  to  keep  up  his  courage.  By  the  second  he  had 
no  courage  to  keep.  By  the  third  he  was  indulging 
in  the  worst  fit  of  despondency  he  ever  had  known. 
He  had  told  her  to  stay  a  week.  A  week!  It 
would  be  an  eternity!  There  alone  again!  Could 
he  bear  it?  He  got  through  to  mid-afternoon  some 
way,  and  then  in  jealous  fear  and  foreboding  he  be 
came  almost  frantic.  One  way  or  the  other,  this  thing 
must  be  settled.  Fiercer  raged  the  storm  within  him 
and  at  last  toward  evening  it  became  unendurable. 

At  its  height  the  curling  smoke  from  the  chimney 
told  him  that  Mary  had  come  home.  An  unreasoning 
joy  seized  him.  He  went  to  the  barn  and  listened. 
He  could  hear  her  moving  about  preparing  supper. 
As  he  watched  she  came  to  the  well  for  water  and 
before  she  returned  to  the  cabin  she  stood  looking 
over  the  fields  as  if  trying  to  locate  him.  Dannie's 
blood  ran  hotly  and  his  pulses  were  lea]:  ing.  "  Go 
to  her!  Go  to  her  now!  "  demanded  passion,  strug 
gling  to  break  leash.  "  You  killed  Jimmy !  You 
murdered  your  friend !  "  cried  conscience,  with  un 
yielding  insistence.  Poor  Dannie  gave  one  last  glance 
at  Mary,  and  then  turned,  and  for  the  second  time  he 
ran  from  her  as  if  pursued  by  demons.  But  this  time 

247 


AT  THE   FOOT   OF  THE    RAINBOW 

he  went  straight  to  Five  Mile  Hill,  and  the  grave  of 
Jimmy  M  alone. 

He  sat  down  on  it,  and  within  a  few  feet  of  Jimmy's 
bones,  Dannie  took  his  tired  head  in  his  hands,  and 
tried  to  think,  and  for  the  life  of  him,  he  could  think 
but  two  things.  That  he  had  killed  Jimmy,  and  that 
to  live  longer  without  Mary  would  kill  him.  Hour 
after  hour  he  fought  with  his  lifelong  love  for  Jimmy 
and  his  lifelong  love  for  Mary.  Night  came  on,  the 
frost  bit,  the  wind  chilled,  and  the  little  brown  owls 
screeched  among  the  gravestones,  and  Dannie  battled 
on.  Morning  came,  the  sun  arose,  and  shone  on 
Dannie,  sitting  numb  with  drawn  face  and  bleeding 
heart. 

Mary  prepared  a  fine  supper  the  night  before,  and 
patiently  waited,  and  when  Dannie  did  not  come,  she 
concluded  that  he  had  gone  to  town,  without  knowing 
that  she  had  returned.  Tilly  grew  sleepy,  so  she  put 
the  child  to  bed,  and  presently  she  went  herself. 
Father  Michael  would  make  everything  right  in  the 
morning.  But  in  the  morning  Dannie  was  not  there, 
and  had  not  been.  Mary  became  alarmed.  She  was 
very  nervous  by  the  time  Father  Michael  arrived. 
He  decided  to  go  to  the  nearest  neighbor,  and  ask 
when  Dannie  had  been  seen  last.  As  he  turned  from 

248 


THE    POT   OF   GOLD 

the  lane  into  the  road  a  man  of  that  neighborhood 
was  passing  on  his  wagon,  and  the  priest  hailed  him, 
and  asked  if  he  knew  where  Dannie  Macnoun  was. 

"  Back  in  Five  Mile  Hill,  a  man  with  his  head  on 
his  knees,  is  a-settin'  on  the  grave  of  Jimmy  Malone, 
and  I  allow  that  would  be  Dannie  Macnoun,  the 
damn  fool !  "  he  said. 

Father  Michael  went  back  to  the  cabin,  and  told 
Mary  he  had  learned  where  Dannie  was,  and  to  have 
no  uneasiness,  and  he  would  go  to  see  him  imme 
diately. 

"  And  first  of  all  you'll  tell  him  how  Jimmy  lied 
to  him?" 

"  I  will !  "  said  the  priest. 

He  entered  the  cemetery,  and  walked  slowly  to  the 
grave  of  Jimmy  Malone.  Dannie  lifted  his  head,  and 
stared  at  him. 

"  I  saw  you,"  said  Father  Michael,  "  and  I  came 
in  to  speak  with  you."  He  took  Dannie's  hand. 
*  You  are  here  at  this  hour  to  my  surprise." 

"  I  dinna  know  that  ye  should  be  surprised  at  my 
comin'  to  sit  by  Jimmy  at  ony  time,"  coldly  replied 
Dannie.  "  He  was  my  only  friend  in  life,  and  another 
mon  so  fine  I'll  never  know.  I  often  come  here." 

The  priest  shifted  his  weight  from  one  foot  to  the 
249 


AT   THE    FOOT   OF   THE    RAINBOW 

other,  and  then  he  sat  down  on  a  grave  near  Dannie. 
"  For  a  year  I  have  been  waiting  to  talk  with  you," 
he  said. 

Dannie  wiped  his  face,  and  lifting  his  hat,  ran  his 
fingers  through  his  hair,  as  if  to  arouse  himself.  His 
eyes  were  dull  and  listless.  "  1  am  afraid  I  am  no 
fit  to  talk  sensibly,"  he  said.  "  I  am  much  troubled. 
Some  other  time " 

"  Could  you  tell  me  your  trouble?  "  asked  Father 
Michael. 

Dannie  shook  his  head. 

"  I  have  known  Mary  Malone  all  her  life,"  said 
the  priest  softly,  "  and  been  her  confessor.  I  have 
known  Jimmy  Malone  all  his  life,  and  heard  his  dying 
confession.  I  know  what  it  was  he  was  trying  to  tell 
you  when  he  died.  Think  again !  " 

Dannie  Macnoun  stood  up.  He  looked  at  the 
priest  intently.  "  Did  ye  come  here  purposely  to 
find  me?" 

"  Yes." 

"  What  do  ye  want?" 

"  To  clear  your  mind  of  all  trouble,  and  fill  your 
heart  with  love,  and  great  peace,  and  rest.  Our 
Heavenly  Father  knows  that  you  need  peace  of  heart, 
and  rest,  Dannie." 

250 


THE    POT   OF   GOLD 

'*  To  fill  my  heart  wi'  peace,  ye  will  have  to  prove 
to  me  that  I'm  no  responsible  fra  the  death  of  Jimmy 
Malone ;  and  to  give  it  rest,  ye  will  have  to  prove  to 
me  that  I'm  free  to  marry  his  wife.  Ye  can  do 
neither  of  those  things." 

"  I  can  do  both,"  said  the  priest  calmly.  "  My  son, 
that  is  what  I  came  to  do." 

Dannie's  face  grew  whiter  and  whiter,  as  the  blood 
receded,  and  his  big  hands  gripped  at  his  sides. 

"  Aye,  but  ye  canna !  "  he  cried  desperately.  "  Ye 
canna!  " 

"I  can,"  said  the  priest.  "Listen  to  me!  Did 
Jimmy  get  anything  at  all  said  to  you?  " 

"  He  said,  *  Mary,'  then  he  choked  on  the  next 
word,  then  he  gasped  out  *  yours/  and  it  was  over." 

"  Have  you  any  idea  what  he  was  trying  to  tell 
you?" 

"  Na !  "  answered  Dannie.  "  He  was  mortal  sick, 
and  half  delirious,  and  I  paid  little  heed.  If  he  lived, 
he  would  tell  me  when  he  was  better;  if  he  died,  noth 
ing  mattered,  fra  I  was  responsible,  and  better  friend 
mon  never  had.  There  was  nothing  on  earth  Jimmy 
would  na  have  done  for  me.  He  was  so  big  hearted, 
so  generous!  My  God,  how  I  have  missed  him! 
How  I  have  missed  him  I  " 

251 


AT   THE    FOOT   OF   THE    RAINBOW 

"  Your  faith  in  Jimmy  is  strong,"  ventured  the  be 
wildered  priest,  for  he  did  not  see  his  way. 

Dannie  lifted  his  head.  The  sunshine  was  warm 
ing  him,  and  his  thoughts  were  beginning  to  clear. 

"  My  faith  in  Jimmy  Malone  is  so  strong,"  he  said, 
"  that  if  I  lost  it,  I  never  should  trust  another  living 
mon.  He  had  his  faults  to  others,  I  admit  that,  but 
he  never  had  ony  to  me.  He  was  my  friend,  and 
above  my  life  I  loved  him.  I  wad  gladly  have  died  to 
save  him." 

"  And  yet  you  say  you  are  responsible  for  his 
death!" 

"  Let  me  tell  ye !  "  cried  Dannie  eagerly,  and  began 
on  the  story  the  priest  wanted  to  hear  from  him.  As 
he  finished  Father  Michael's  face  lighted. 

"  What  folly!  "  he  said,  "  that  a  man  of  your  in 
telligence  should  torture  yourself  with  the  thought  of 
responsibility  in  a  case  like  that.  Any  one  would  have 
claimed  the  fish  in  those  circumstances.  Priest  that 
I  am,  I  would  have  had  it,  even  if  I  fought  for  it. 
Any  man  would !  And  as  for  what  followed,  it  was 
bound  to  come!  He  was  a  tortured  man,  and  a 
broken  one.  If  he  had  not  lain  out  that  night,  he 
would  a  few  nights  later.  It  was  not  in  your  power 
to  save  him.  No  man  can  be  saved  from  himself, 

252 


THE    POT   OF   GOLD 

Dannie.  Did  what  he  said  make  no  impression  on 
you?" 

"  Enough  that  I  would  have  killed  him  with  my 
naked  hands  if  he  had  na  taken  it  back.  Of  course  he 
had  to  retract !  If  I  believed  that  of  Jimmy,  after  the 
life  we  lived  together,  I  would  curse  God  and  mon, 
and  break  fra  the  woods,  and  live  and  dee  there 
alone." 

"  Then  what  was  he  trying  to  tell  you  when  he 
died?  "  asked  the  bewildered  priest. 

"  To  take  care  of  Mary,  I  judge." 

"  Not  to  marry  her ;  and  take  her  for  your 
own?" 

Dannie  began  to  tremble. 

"  Remember,  I  talked  with  him  first,"  said  Father 
Michael,  "  and  what  he  confessed  to  me,  he  knew  was 
final.  He  died  before  he  could  talk  to  you,  but  I 
think  it  is  time  to  tell  you  what  he  wanted  to  say. 
He — he — was  trying — trying  to  tell  you,  that  there 
was  nothing  but  love  in  his  heart  for  you.  That  he 
did  not  in  any  way  blame  you.  That — that  Mary  was 
yours.  That  you  were  free  to  take  her.  That " 

"  What!  "  cried  Dannie  wildly.  "  Are  ye  sure? 
Oh,  my  God!" 

"Perfectly    sure!"    answered    Father    Michael. 

253 


AT   THE    FOOT   OF   THE    RAINBOW 

"  Jimmy  knew  how  long  and  faithfully  you  had  loved 
Mary,  and  she  had  loved  you " 

"Mary  had  loved  me?  Carefu',  mon!  Are  y£ 
sure?" 

"  I  know,"  said  Father  Michael  convincingly.  "  I 
give  you  my  priestly  word,  I  know ;  and  Jimmy  knew, 
and  was  altogether  willing.  He  loved  you  deeply, 
as  he  could  love  any  one,  Dannie,  and  he  blamed  you 
for  nothing  at  all.  The  only  thing  that  would  have 
brought  Jimmy  any  comfort  in  dying,  was  to  know 
that  you  would  end  your  life  with  Mary,  and  not 
hate  his  memory." 

"Hate!"  cried  Dannie.  "Hate!  Father 
Michael,  if  ye  have  come  to  tell  me  that  Jimmy  na 
held  me  responsible  fra  his  death,  and  was  willing 
fra  me  to  have  Mary,  your  face  looks  like  the  face  of 
God  to  me !  "  Dannie  gripped  the  priest's  hand. 
"Are  ye  sure?  Are  ye  sure,  mon?"  He  almost 
lifted  Father  Michael  from  the  ground. 

"  I  tell  you,  I  know !    Go  and  be  happy !  " 

"  Some  ither  day  I  will  try  to  thank  ye,"  said  Dan 
nie,  turning  away.  "  Noo,  I'm  in  a  little  of  a  hurry." 
He  was  half  way  to  the  gate  when  he  turned  back. 
"  Does  Mary  know  this?  "  he  asked. 

"  She  does,"  said  the  priest.  "  You  are  one  good 
254 


THE    POT   OF   GOLD 

man,  Dannie,  go  and  be  happy,  and  may  the  blessing 
of  God  go  with  you." 

Dannie  lifted  his  hat. 

"  And  Jimmy,  too,"  he  said,  "  put  Jimmy  in, 
Father  Michael." 

44  May  the  peace  of  God  rest  the  troubled  soul 
of  Jimmy  Malone,"  said  Father  Michael,  and  not 
being  a  Catholic,  Dannie  did  not  know  that  from 
the  blessing  for  which  he  asked. 

He  hurried  away  with  the  brightness  of  dawn  on 
his  lined  face,  which  looked  almost  boyish  under  his 
whitening  hair. 

Mary  Malone  was  at  the  window,  and  turmoil 
and  bitterness  were  beginning  to  burn  in  her  heart 
again.  Maybe  the  priest  had  not  found  Dannie. 
Maybe  he  was  not  coming.  Maybe  a  thousand  things. 
Then  he  was  coming.  Coming  straight  and  sure. 
Coming  across  the  fields,  and  leaping  fences  at  a 
bound.  Coming  with  such  speed  and  force  as  comes 
the  strong  man,  fifteen  years  denied.  Mary's  heart 
began  to  jar,  and  thump,  and  waves  of  happiness 
surged  over  her.  And  then  she  saw  that  look  of 
dawn,  of  serene  delight  on  the  face  of  the  man,  and 
she  stood  aghast.  Dannie  threw  wide  the  door,  and 
crossed  her  threshold  with  outstretched  arms. 

255 


AT   THE    FOOT   OF   THE    RAINBOW 

"Is  it  true?"  he  panted.  "That  thing  Father 
Michael  told  me,  is  it  true?  Will  ye  be  mine, 
Mary  Malone?  At  last  will  you  be  mine?  Oh,  my 
girl,  is  the  beautiful  thing  that  the  priest  told  me 
true?" 

"  The  beautiful  thing  that  the  priest  told  him!  " 

Mary  Malone  swung  a  chair  before  her,  and 
stepped  back.  "  Wait!  "  she  cried  sharply.  "  There 
must  be  some  mistake.  Till  me  ixactly  what  Father 
Michael  told  you?" 

"  He  told  me  that  Jimmy  na  held  me  responsible 
fra  his  death.  That  he  loved  me  when  he  died.  That 
he  was  willing  I  should  have  ye  I  Oh,  Mary,  wasna 
that  splendid  of  him.  Wasna  he  a  grand  mon? 
Mary,  come  to  me.  Say  that  it's  true!  Tell  me, 
if  ye  love  me." 

Mary  Malone  stared  wide-eyed  at  Dannie,  and 
gasped  for  breath. 

Dannie  came  closer.  At  last  he  had  found  his 
tongue.  "  Fra  the  love  of  mercy,  if  ye  are  comin' 
to  me,  come  noo,  Mary,"  he  begged.  "  My  arms  will 
split  if  they  dinna  get  round  ye  soon,  dear.  Jimmy 
told  ye  fra  me,  sixteen  years  ago,  how  I  loved  ye, 
and  he  told  me  when  he  came  back  how  sorry  ye  were 
fra  me,  and  he — he  almost  cried  when  he  told  me.  I 

256 


THE    POT   OF   GOLD 

never  saw  a  mon  feel  so.  Grand  old  Jimmy!  No 
other  mon  like  him  1  " 

Mary  drew  back  in  desperation. 

"  You  see  here,  Dannie  Micnoun !  "  she  screamed. 
"  You  see  here " 

"  I  do,"  broke  in  Dannie.  "  I'm  lookin' !  All  I 
ever  saw,  or  see  now,  or  shall  see  till  I  dee  is  *  here,' 
when  *  here  '  is  ye,  Mary  Malone.  Oh !  If  a  woman 
ever  could  understand  what  passion  means  to  a  mon ! 
If  ye  knew  what  I  have  suffered  through  all  these 
years,  you'd  end  it,  Mary  Malone." 

Mary  gave  the  chair  a  shove.  "  Come  here,  Dan 
nie,"  she  said.  Dannie  cleared  the  space  between 
them.  Mary  set  her  hands  against  his  breast.  "  One 
minute,"  she  panted.  "  Just  one  i  I  have  loved  you 
all  me  life,  me  man.  I  niver  loved  any  one  but  you. 
I  niver  wanted  any  one  but  you.  I  niver  hoped  for 
any  Hivin  better  than  I  knew  I'd  find  in  your  arms. 
There  was  a  mistake.  There  was  an  awful  mistake, 
when  I  married  Jimmy.  I'm  not  tillin'  you  now,  and 
I  niver  will,  but  you  must  realize  that !  Do  you  un 
derstand  me?  " 

"  Hardly,"  breathed  Dannie.     "  Hardly!  " 

u  Will,  you  can  take  your  time  if  you  want  to  think 
it  out,  because  that's  all  I'll  iver  till  you.  There  was 

257 


AT   THE    FOOT   OF  THE   RAINBOW 

a  horrible  mistake.  It  was  you  I  loved,  and  wanted 
to  marry.  Now  bend  down  to  me,  Dannie  Micnoun, 
because  I'm  going  to  take  your  head  on  me  breast  and 
kiss  your  dear  face  until  I'm  tired,"  said  Mary 
Malone. 

An  hour  later  Father  Michael  came  leisurely  down 
the  lane,  and  the  peace  of  God  was  with  him. 

A  radiant  Mary  went  out  to  meet  him. 

"  You  didn't  till  him !  "  she  cried  accusingly. 
"  You  didn't  till  him!  " 

The  priest  laid  a  hand  on  her  head. 

"  Mary,  the  greatest  thing  in  the  whole  world  is 
self-sacrifice,"  he  said.  [<  The  pot  at  the  foot  of  the 
rainbow  is  just  now  running  over  with  the  pure  gold 
of  perfect  contentment.  But  had  you  and  I  done  such 
a  dreadful  thing  as  to  destroy  the  confidence  of  a 
good  man  in  his  friend,  your  heart  never  could  know 
such  joy  as  it  now  knows  in  this  sacrifice  of  yours; 
and  no  such  blessed,  shining  light  could  illumine  your 
face.  That  is  what  I  wanted  to  see.  I  said  to  myself 
as  I  came  along,  '  She  will  try,  but  she  will  learn,  as 
I  did,  that  she  cannot  look  in  his  eyes  and  undeceive 
him.  And  when  she  becomes  reconciled,  her  face  will 
be  so  good  to  see.'  And  it  is.  You  did  not  tell  him 
either,  Mary  Malone !  " 

258 


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